


A Revelation in the Light of Day

by harlequin421



Series: Heartlines [2]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: A lot of talking about feels, Actual were-pup Isaac, Alternate Universe - Canon, And mates, F/F, F/M, Forever kind of love, Gen, M/M, Multi, Non/con-but it's pertaining to the bites not sex, Other, Pack Dynamics, Possessiveness, Rogue Alpha, Rogue Hunters, Somewhat, Violence, au after season one, mentions of child abuse, slight ooc-ness, unfinished-wip
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2012-07-12
Updated: 2012-07-20
Packaged: 2017-11-09 19:46:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 23,874
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/457697
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/harlequin421/pseuds/harlequin421
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Where Derek finally tells the class what he knows, there is a rogue Alpha turning people out of town, and Stiles seems to be unable to stop bringing home strays.</p><p>Sequel to <i>I Never Knew Daylight Could be So Violent</i></p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I know that some of the characters (namely Erica) are horribly OOC but they’re puppies! And I subscribe to the religion that it’s Derek’s Moodiness that makes his pups act that way in the show. If he was happier, and less harsh, his pups wouldn’t be such psychopaths.

The day that IKEA furniture arrived had been his first clue.

(Well actually, his first clue should have been the fact that Derek hadn’t taken advantage when he had been throwing all those vibes when he had been hoped up on that sex pollen or whatever. Well that and the fact that he didn’t tease Stiles about it afterwards. He kept everything that happened between them, and had even glared at Jackson when he was being a douche and talking about it. Of course the glare was ruined when Jackson gave him the wounded puppy dog look and Derek just gave Stiles the exasperated-parent-who-couldn’t-control-his-four-year-old look, and how was that even fair?

They hadn’t talked about what had happened that day at all, or the fact that Derek now knew that Stiles had a crush on him and he maybe reciprocated that crush. And then there was the fact that Derek’s scent was enough to make Stiles calm. It wasn’t a werewolf thing, at least he hoped it wasn’t (even though it probably was), but ever since the whole sex pollen thing that no one mentions ever, he’d become so attuned to Derek’s smell that he could tell when either him or Jackson were in the room because his reaction was always the same.

It was difficult to work up the right amount of rage to deal with Jackson when being around him made him feel sort of dopey, not like around Derek who made him calm and relaxed and safe (and occasionally uncomfortable aroused), but in that way after you take a bong hit that your whole world just sort of mellows out, not that Stiles would know about bong hits or anything. The point is that Stiles should have counted all of that as his first clue, or you know clues one through ten, but he didn’t.)

It had been about three weeks since the event that no one speaks about, and the house looked sort of like an outline of a house with all of the beams in place and the stairs and the paneling for upstairs, but it was missing the important things like walls or floors. The only thing that had a roof was the porch. And it was also several square feet smaller. They had basically torn it down and were building it from the ground up. That was a good job for the two months they’ve been working at it. Stiles was also pretty sure that it was going to take them until the end of their senior year to finally see the fruits of their labor. Stiles had drawn up a chart plotting their progress. He had also made the schedule as to when the pack needed to train and when they needed to dedicate their time to other things like homework and studying. And that was only after all of them except Lydia and Allison who got a B+ managed failed a math exam.

Stiles had told his father that they were helping Derek rebuild his house. His father looked pretty skeptical, but then again he was always skeptical at Stiles motives. He didn’t exactly tell Stiles it was okay, but he didn’t ban him from going over there, just threatened to if Stiles failed another exam, which was what really prompted him to make the schedule. Three days a week the werepups practiced with Derek unless there was lacrosse to worry about, and the season was almost over which was a good thing because Derek got really pissed when Scott, Jackson and Stiles were late. Two nights were dedicated to study dates where everyone, even Derek, well _sometimes_ Derek, helped each other out with homework and studied for tests. The other two days were sort of free days where they could do what they wanted. They usually ended up at Derek’s helping him with the house, which told Stiles really all he needed to know about packs.

The good thing was that Derek had finally caved under the pressure and had rented an apartment in town. Because it was beginning to get colder and Stiles was not about to spend the Winter Full Moons huddled in a corner of the unfinished Hale House. The other good thing was that they’d built a shed to store the tools in and it was insulated, so it was a good place to leave all of the furniture that Stiles had bought for the house. He hoped that the wood didn’t rot during the winter because this shit was expensive and Stiles was going to be so pissed if anything happened to it.

Stiles had thought that he could’ve signed and have everything away before the wolves came out to prepare for the full moon, but he didn’t count on Jackson appearing out of nowhere.

He’d been babbling at the guy who was pretty attractive in that ruggedly handsome kind of way, and who was flexing his muscles as he took the things out of the truck. He’d also smiled at Stiles from time to time and answered his questions, and he said _Stiles_ with a lisp and sent him winks and Stiles was flushing at the attention. It answered his question about being attractive to gay guys. He was sneaking looks at him while looking through the papers on his purchases to make sure that he got everything that he had ordered. He had been chewing on the pen cap, and making check marks, when suddenly he felt less attracted and more relaxed than he should’ve been. He spit the cap out to turn around and there was Jackson.

Jackson looked a bit pissed, but that was his neutral expression. Underlying that was amusement, because Jackson found the fact that Stiles couldn’t insult him anymore without feeling a bit guilty amusing. It wasn’t his fault! It was Derek’s fault! Derek and his freaky werewolf powers and whatever the hell is going on with his scent or whatever. Stiles wished that he could go back to looking at Jackson in disdain.

Jackson just stepped closer because curiosity definitely killed the werewolf not the cat, and tried to surreptitiously sniff at Stiles to see if he’d gotten some stranger’s scent all over him.

(Ever since the thing that no one speaks off, even when Stiles wants to speak of it, all the pack members have been acting way too overprotective. Like if Stiles talks to someone who isn’t pack and _lets_ them touch him they pull him away and drape themselves all over him. Lydia actually goes as far as sitting on his lap. Jackson waits until they’re alone to push him against the lockers and sniff all over his throat rubbing his face on his neck before pushing away and leaving without saying a word.

Which is really beside the point because Derek finds out about it anyway, and he gives Stiles the silent treatment until Stiles confronts him and yells at him and tells him that he won’t apologize for _making friends._ But Derek always seems to win those stupid fights which is really unfair because Lydia, Scott, Allison and even Jackson get to make new friends and talk to other people, but when Stiles does it it’s considered taboo.

The only person besides the pack that talks to him anymore at school is Danny and that’s probably because Danny scent is familiar because it’s all over Jackson. Stiles considers from time to time about asking his dad to use all that time off he has and take them on vacation so that he could meet and talk to new people, but he knows that he’d miss the pack too much. And it’s entirely plausible that Derek would appear wherever he was and crush his attempts at friend making because he is a possessive sour-wolf who still hasn’t kissed Stiles even though he looks at him like he wants to eat him up most of the time, the other time is spent glaring.)

Jackson threw his arm over Stiles shoulder and tucked him into his side grinning the Wolfy Derek Grin at the guy that was made to intimidate, and by the smug look on Jackson’s face it got the desired effect.

“Mr. Stilinski,” and really the guy had been saying Stiles just two minutes before and giving him appreciative looks. Now he was looking somewhere over Stiles left shoulder, probably at the way Jackson’s hand was cupping his shoulder possessively. “That would be all, if you could just sign here.”

Stiles smiled brightly, and signed the paper, debating whether or not it would be worth the silent treatment Derek was going to give him if he gave this guy his number, but then Jackson’s hand tightened on his shoulder, and Stiles just sighed.

“Thank you, again for helping me get everything inside,” Stiles says maybe a little bit breathy and flashed another smile.

The guy looked at Stiles like if he couldn’t believe that he was still flirting, and Jackson, _the jerk_ , just buried his head in Stiles shoulder, and Stiles was pretty sure that the tongue licking could be seen from mars.

Really, why did these things only happen to him?

The guy just nodded his head got in his truck and left.

Stiles pushed Jackson off him and used the sleeve of his hoodie to wipe at the spit, “Why did you have to do that?”

Jackson smirked unrepentantly and stuffed his hands in his pockets, “Derek told me to keep an eye on you, so that’s what I’m doing. Besides what did you think was going to happen? That he was going to sweep you off your feet? Are you really that naïve? Do you actually think Derek would allow that? Did he know you were jailbait? Because I’m pretty sure I could just casually mention to your dad about some older guy following you around and give him that guy’s address. I think his scent is easy to follow. He stinks of lust and shame and violence.”

Jackson looked away at that and Stiles was shocked for a minute because it sounded like _Jackson cared._

He was about to make a comment about it when Jackson glared at him, “Whatever _this_ is, I hope you know that I blame you.”

Right, because it was Stiles fault that he tripped and got doused with sex pollen only to be made aware of how fucking incredible Derek smelled all of the time, and then because Jackson had been bitten by Derek he smelled the same to some extent. Like Stiles would willingly choose any of this. Well maybe the Derek part. The Jackson part not so much.

“Listen,” Stiles began. “I know this is weird. Like beyond weird, but you’re a werewolf, so weird is basically the norm now. Can’t you just ignore whatever _this_ is?”

Jackson leveled him a look that said so much about what he thought about Stiles mental capacities, and really that hurt.

He just huffed and turned around stalking to the porch. Stiles just rolled his eyes and closed the shed locking it with a padlock that he’d bought just for this occasion, not like that could stop any of the werewolves from opening the shed if they really wanted to, but Stiles hoped that if he asked them nicely, they’d wait until the downstairs was at least finished to see what Stiles bought.

He sat down next to Jackson who didn’t say anything else, and waited for the rest of the pack to get there.

\----

And then there was Erica Reyes.

Well actual werewolf Erica Reyes. Apparently one day she’s the girl that everyone makes fun of who wears the baggy clothes, and Stiles occasionally makes her cookies and leaves them in her locker (because his cookies are legendary and he’s pretty good with picking locks, and it’s not like he wants her to fawn over him in gratitude, he just wants her to smile), and the next day she’s wearing biker chic in the form of leather jackets and leather skirts and leather boots (what was up with werewolves and leather anyway?) and red.

Stiles had seen her and had actually stared a little because wow, who went through changes like _that_ , but he had been too busy making up schedules and looking up more information on werewolves (which was easier to find in the library than on the internet) that he had actually brushed it off and had ignored the obviously glaring change. Besides he had figured that some girls liked makeovers, and maybe Erica was just getting in touch with that side of herself. Of course it should’ve helped him get the connection when she stopped getting attacks, but sadly no.

It was however, during gym class when he’d been lounging on the bleachers watching the volley ball team practice that he noticed. Well anyone who knew what to look for would notice, what with the claws gouging the ball and the eyes flashing gold.

It didn’t take Stiles long after to put the pieces together, and when he did instead of doing the smart thing and telling Derek (because Derek should have known there was another werewolf and should have told them about it, so he was mad at Derek), he decided to ask Erica about it herself.

He had told the pack that he was going over to Danny’s and had texted Danny to cover for him. Danny had sent back two messages a question mark and then a wink as though he’d been confused and then suddenly got where Stiles was coming from, which wasn’t so much confusing as embarrassing because now Danny would expect him to spill about his non-existent sex life, because even though he sometimes treated Stiles like he was bothering him all of the time, he was surprisingly easy to talk to and gave Stiles excellent advice (that Stiles choose not to follow because he happened to like plaid shirts okay?).

So with all of that done, he grabbed the Tupperware of cookies he had made for the pack (the pack’s Tupperware was already at Derek’s and probably being demolished all to hell, he’d be concerned if he wasn’t so proud of the way they all collectively groaned when they took a bite) and made his way to the Reyes.

Mr. Reyes smiled warmly at him when he opened the door and saw the cookies in Stiles hands, “I always knew that it was you who made Erica those cookies. Your mom always made extra for everyone in the neighborhood and everyone knew that those were the best cookies in town. You could make a killing with those things.”

Stiles handed the bowl over feeling himself flushing slightly and resisted the urge to tear up because this was a compliment and it was a good one, one that Stiles would relay over to his mom when he visited her grave next Sunday, “Thank you. Is Erica home?”

Mr. Reyes nodded and stepped aside to let him in, “Her room is up the stairs and to the left.”

Stiles nodded and stifled a laugh when Mr. Reyes took a bite of the cookies and muttered, “Just like I remembered.”

He went up the stairs and stalled in front of the door not knowing if he should knock, or not. The door opened saving him from knocking and Erica raised an eyebrow at him, “You are unlike all the other guys that come here. At least you brought a boon before deciding to attempt to take my virtue.”

Stiles flinched, “Okay, first, _a boon?_ Really?” Erica shrugged. “And I’m not here to take your virtue! I’m actually here to talk about the obvious werewolf behavior you exhibited today in gym class.”

Erica’s eyes widened and instead of shutting the door on his face like he had been expecting her to, she leaned forward and sniffed at him and then said the really surprising and honestly insulting statement, “Why do you smell like Derek?”

Stiles wanted to whip out his phone and call Derek and tell him to go fuck himself, because how? How did he not tell them that there was another werewolf in town? _How?_ Weren’t they supposed to be pack and not keeping things from each other? Was this an illegitimate children thing? Did the Alpha lose control and accidentally bit someone? And how did the others _not_ know?

“How do you know Derek?”

Erica stepped back and let him walk into her room. He looked around at the mess and managed to stifle his smile. He sat down on her desk chair, and she sat on the edge of her bed sighing.

“It was two months ago,” she started and Stiles brain had to restart itself because Derek had known for _two months_ and hadn’t told them _anything._ “My dad and I were out of town. He was at a conference and I’m not allowed to be by myself because of the seizures. He had some, _company_ and I was walking around. When I felt like if something was stalking me. I began to walk faster, but before I could get any further the thing was on me and biting down on my neck. I thought that I was going to die. It was worse than any seizure I’d ever had, and by the time I got up, the wound on my neck was mostly healed, and I was still alive. I didn’t realize what it meant until the first full moon, but I had stopped having attacks by then, and I had always wanted to reinvent myself.”

She smiled ruefully, and Stiles wanted to walk over there and let her curl up against him like he did to Jackson when Derek was busy trying to keep Scott and Lydia from killing each other. “I met Derek about two weeks ago,” and okay, two weeks wasn’t that bad. But two weeks meant that he’d know _after_ the event that no one speaks of, and even though Stiles still didn’t know what it meant for them, he thought that it had meant _something_ but he guessed that he was wrong. “He stopped me from killing my dad, and let me cry on his shoulder. He’s a good Alpha. I’ve been debating whether or not to join the pack. And I made him promise not to tell anyone anything, not until I was ready. But I guess that cat’s out of the bag now huh?”

She looked so defenseless and really no one could blame Stiles for getting up and sitting down next to her. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and laid her head down on his breathing in his scent, “You really do smell like Derek, the wolf finds it soothing somehow.”

Stiles had to smile at that because there was no way that Erica was still debating whether or not she was going to join the pack, “That just means your wolf has already decided to join the pack. All you have to do now is follow the schedule. I can print one out for you. Today is Free Day, but that usually means that Derek and the werepups and Allison are over at the Hale House attempting to put up walls or something that I’m not allowed to help with because I knocked Jackson out with a hammer.”

Erica let out a thrill of laughter that made Stiles feel all warm and fuzzy like he felt whenever he made Jackson smile, and those not-subtle hints that Lydia had been dropping about Mama Alpha were finally beginning to make sense. Stiles wanted to whine and protest that he was too young to be a mom, and that he wasn’t even a girl, but in actuality he didn’t mind it that much.

It actually made him happy.

And really he should have been expecting angry Derek when he finally reached the Hale House with Erica in his passenger seat, but it was Derek’s fault for keeping her a secret in the first place.

He got out of the car letting Erica get out in her own pace and stalked over to the porch where the three pups, Allison and Derek were all watching him, some in confusion (Scott), some with smug I-knew-it looks (Lydia), some in sympathy (Allison), and others glaring holes through his forehead (Jackson and Derek).

Stiles didn’t waste any time he stopped right in front of Derek, “Why didn’t you tell us?”

Derek looked at him as though he didn’t owe him anything and Stiles really wished he could glare him into submission.

“She hasn’t decided if she wants to be part of the pack yet,” Derek says through clenched teeth.

Stiles rolled his eyes, “She told me that her wolf finds my scent soothing because it smells like you! What do you think that means?!”

He had reached out to push Derek back, but was suddenly caught between Derek and the support beam. He barely managed to squeak before Derek was growling, “Why do you smell as if she was draped all over you?”

Stiles gulped and looked behind Derek to see if any of them would help, but the only one left on the porch was Jackson who was still glaring. The others had gone to check on Erica and it seemed that Scott had finally gotten with the program, good for Scott and all really, but Stiles was seconds away from being murdered here.

“Stiles,” and his name sounded more like a growl than his actual name, and that shouldn’t be as arousing as it was being, really. Life threatening danger here. But he did know better, and Derek would never really hurt Stiles. _Derek_ wouldn’t allow it. So he just gulped and sighed, and looked pointedly at him until Derek let out a frustrated huff and let him go stepping back.

Stiles moved from the beam because it had been compressing his spine, and he tilted his head at Derek, “I hugged her, because she looked sad. She didn’t want this Derek. And it’s horrible that it happened, but it did, and now we’re going to deal with it, because she needs the structure! If you had told me _two weeks ago_ , that she had been bitten I would have taken care of bringing her here and helping her adjust. But we’re doing this. She’s already decided, and Lydia and Scott seem to be taken with her.”

Both Derek and Jackson turned to where Scott had pounced on Erica throwing her on the ground, but she was laughing, and Lydia was looking at her like if she wanted a piece of that, and suddenly a lot of things made sense. Allison had parked herself on top of Stiles jeep and was throwing everyone amused, fond looks. Stiles felt overwhelmingly proud of his pack.

He turned and beamed at Derek, who smiled back and Stiles melted a little bit.

He looked at Jackson who was frowning. He frowned and stepped closer to him reaching out to touch his arm, but Jackson pulled away and stalked back inside of the house.

Stiles shared a look with Derek and Derek just nodded his head before heading inside to talk to Jackson.

Stiles sat down on the stairs and looked at the other members of his pack who were talking and laughing like if they’ve known each other forever, and he felt calm and content. If only Jackson was there then everything would’ve been perfect.

Stiles didn’t dwell too long worrying about Jackson. He just wrapped his arms around his legs and leaned his head on his knees and felt like he had done something good.

\----

It wasn’t like he was a magnet for accidents, well he hadn’t been (not really, there had been a few trips to the hospital and broken bones, but they were spread out and normal for a boy his age, maybe), but ever since werewolves decided not only that they wanted to be a thing that actually existed but also that Stiles should be a part of their world, he’d been getting into more accidents.

Case and point, the thing that no one speaks of ever.

But there had never been any life threatening injuries. Or semi-life threatening injuries.

The point was that Stiles was a magnet for accidents but they usually involved him embarrassing himself in some way, or knocking himself out. There had never been any arrows or guns or any of the things that he associated with cops and now hunters. Probably because his dad had shown him how to spot when someone had a gun and the Argents weren’t going to mess with them as long as they didn’t kill anyone. They had come by and threatened them a bit, because of Erica, but after finding out what had happened they left them alone again, because it wasn’t like Erica was an Omega anymore. She was a Beta in a pack that loved her.

But no one had apparently, mentioned that to the rogue hunters who suddenly crashed through the clearing right in front of Derek’s house. And from an objective point of view Stiles knew that the scene looked bad. There were four shifted werepups fighting each other viciously (Stiles was pretty sure that Lydia was drawing blood on purpose and that Erica was goading her on purpose as well. It had to be the most ridiculous style of flirting he had ever seen.), while the fully formed Alpha was snuggling against Stiles back letting him pet him occasionally while he did his Chemistry homework, and occasionally snapping playfully at his wrist. Allison had been with her mom. It was Wednesday so that meant training, and Wednesday’s were Allison and Scary Momma Argent’s mani-pedi date. And Stiles wasn’t about to mess with a mani-pedi date. Not when Scary Momma Argent had practically bitten his head off when he suggested that Allison be allowed to come during pack training days.

It had been kind of amusing to see Mr. Argent stand up and then back down from his wife. He knew now for sure who wore the pants in that relationship.

But it was only one day, and it’s not like there were days were Stiles stayed home on Free Days. Albeit Derek was always passed out on his bed those days, but whatever, it still counted.

The point was that objectively Stiles knew that it looked bad to an outsider, especially when Derek moved from behind him causing him to flop backwards, and then pounced on him, playfully, because he was actually a huge puppy.

It was however, pretty fucking difficult to be objective when there was an arrow sticking out of his shoulder, and one out of his thigh.

It was probably Stiles cry of pain that had stopped Derek from killing the two hunters. He had roared and had knocked them out before shifting back to human and throwing a phone at Scott, “Call the Argents before I rip them to shreds!”

Scott scrambled for the phone but nodded, shooting worried looks at Stiles.

And Stiles tried to man up and take the pain, but he whimpered and suddenly Jackson was there gathering him up to his chest, and while the pain didn’t disappear, it hurt less, and Stiles thanked whatever deity that existed for this freaky werewolf thing that was going on between him and Derek and Jackson that allowed the pain to dull a bit.

Jackson set him down inside of the house, like if it was better protected what with the no walls and stuff, and when he tried to move Stiles scrambled to hold on to him, because he didn’t want to pass out from the pain.

Jackson made a noise in his throat and looked down at Stiles his eyes molten gold and pained. Stiles patted his cheeks trying to reassure him that he was okay, and then suddenly all pain disappeared and there was Derek grabbing him.

“I’m okay,” he yelped when Derek manhandled him into his lap Jackson following still pressed against his back. He looked down to see that the arrow was still sticking out of his thigh and there was one in his shoulder, and even though it didn’t hurt, he felt his body throb in sympathy. They were also bleeding. “I think that while I’m running on the high that your scent apparently gives me, we should pull out the arrows and try and staunch the bleeding, before I bleed out. Maybe put some gauze on it, and try to make me look less like a victim so that we can just tell the hospital that it was an incident with nails and hammers because we are fixing up your house right?”

Derek didn’t say anything. Though he did move, and Stiles grabbed on to him afraid that if he stopped touching him the pain would kill him. Derek stroked his cheek, “Not letting go. But I have to pull out the arrows.”

Stiles nodded dropping his head back on Jackson’s shoulder. Derek broke the tip of the arrow and then pulled. And it felt weird. It didn’t hurt, but it felt like it should be hurting, and Stiles let out a small whimper in sympathy, and Jackson wrapped his arms around Stiles, and there were hands rubbing the top of his head and massaging his temples, and someone else taking out the arrow from his thigh, while someone held his knee down. And Stiles was never gladder that he was part of this pack. That these people were here with him because they were his family and they were going to protect him no matter what happened.

What did surprise him however was when instead of sending one of the pups to get disinfectant and bandages or something, Derek pulled aside his shirt exposing his wound and latching his mouth against it, licking at the wound and sucking, like if he was a freaking _vampire_.

Stiles shifted uncomfortably, but nothing prepared him for the sight of Scott taking his pants off, and then licking at the wound on his _thigh._ Seriously, he was going to have nightmares about that forever. He was going to wake up an old man and get a heart attack and it would be from remembering this.

He would be freaking out more especially when Erica stuck her head under his thigh and licked the other side of the wound, but stupid Jackson and Derek were still holding on to him, and he couldn’t not be calm.

He leaned back more on Jackson feeling sluggish all of a sudden, and tried to say something, but Lydia almost dug her nails into his scalp, and he just surrendered to his pack, and passed out.

When he woke up, he was hot. He tried to move but arms just tightened all over him, and he just slumped back down and looked at the wolves from his vantage point. At least Scott had the decency to put back on his pants before he wrapped himself around Stiles legs like a pretzel his head on top of Stiles thigh where the arrow had gone through. He felt a dull sort of throb there, but there was no bleeding and from what he could see the wound was mostly closed. Thank god for werewolf saliva, huh.

Erica had her face smushed between Scott’s chest and his knee her hand wrapped around his ankle, and she was making these faces that made Stiles think that she was having nightmares.

Then there was Jackson and Derek who were both wrapped around Stiles chest, Derek’s head was lying over his heart, and Jackson’s was pushed into his stomach. Lydia was using Jackson’s back as a pillow while Stiles used her lap as a pillow. He tried to look down at his shoulder, but it was covered, and there was no dull throb like on his thigh. He decided to ignore it and go back to sleep.

It might have been hot, but at least he was comfortable.

The next time he woke up. He was alone. The sun was just about to set, and he could hear the water running in the back where the shed was and where the pack usually took their showers. He sat up on the couch where they must’ve moved him after they all left and stretched out yawning.

He moved his right leg, and a dull pain ran up his thigh. He hissed lightly and poked around the hole in his pants to see that there was a wound still there but it didn’t look too bad. It actually looked like if he scrapped himself on a sharp piece of stone. He tugged on his shirt collar to see his shoulder, only to see that there was no wound. The skin was perfect and unmarred almost as if nothing had happened.

But Stiles remembered the pain of the arrow slicing through the skin. It was something he wasn’t going to forget easily. He heard the water shut off, and waited until he heard Derek’s bare feet padding across the floor before he stood up.

Derek stopped right by one of the beams and leaned against it looking at Stiles with an unreadable look on his face.

Stiles wanted to ask about the wound on his shoulder and what had happened to it, but Derek looked at him and there was pain in his eyes, and Stiles knew immediately that Derek was blaming himself for what had happened.

He stepped forward ignoring the pain in his leg, and stopped when he was standing in front of Derek, “Don’t.”

Derek didn’t say a word. He just looked at Stiles, gaze sweeping from the top of his head to his feet, and Stiles felt naked, but he was hyperaware that there was dried blood on his shirt and jeans. And maybe he should take a shower and borrow some of Derek’s close before heading home, but dealing with whatever Derek was dealing with was his first priority.

Derek sighed as if he could tell what Stiles was thinking, “You should go take a shower.”

“No,” Stiles snapped stepping closer. “You’re going to stop blaming yourself for this. Look at me! I’m fine! Totally fine! It’s almost like if it didn’t happen!”

Derek gritted his teeth, “It is my fault. If I wasn’t so caught up in your scent, I would’ve noticed them right away.”

Stiles shook his head, “No. Not if they didn’t want you to. And if it was my scent that was distracting you, doesn’t it make this my fault?”

Derek’s eyes snapped to him and he looked like he wanted to grab Stiles and press him against a wall and threaten him or something, “This wasn’t your fault. You were the one that was shot. I let you get shot!”

“Fuck that!” Stiles screamed launching himself at Derek and grabbing him by his t-shirt. “You didn’t let me anything! Those fucking hunters shot at us for no good reason! And you didn’t even kill them! You had Scott call the Argents to let them deal with them!”

Derek didn’t budge from his spot, “I wanted to kill them. I wanted to rip them apart for hurting you.”

“But you didn’t,” Stile says resting his palms against his chest and smiling when the dull pain in his thigh dissipated. “You stopped. And that’s what’s important.”

Derek reached out and framed his hands around Stiles face fingers brushing his cheeks, “You could have died. I don’t know what I would have done if they had shot you somewhere more vital.”

Stiles shook his head, “I’m still here, Derek.”

Derek leaned forward and rested their foreheads together breathing in. Stiles closed his eyes and tilted his head.

He wanted so many things, and felt like even if he did get them, it still wouldn’t be enough. He wanted anything that Derek could give him and everything that he couldn’t. He wanted it all. To crawl into Derek and never let go. But he had to know if Derek felt the same, and not because of some bizarre werewolf thing, but because he was Stiles and he was Derek, nothing more, nothing less.

He took a deep breath intending to ask about the wound on his shoulder, but what came out instead was, “Why haven’t you kissed me?”

Derek’s breath hitched, and he pulled back looking into Stiles eyes.

“I’m twenty-four, Stiles. And you’re sixteen. This isn’t something that you can forget about when you go to college. This is forever. If I cross that line, you’re mine forever. I just want you to be two hundred percent sure that I am what you want before you decide anything. I can wait until you’re ready. And no matter what it feels like, you’re not ready Stiles.”

Stiles wanted to push him back and hit him and yell at him and ask him who the fuck he thought he was to be telling Stiles what he felt.

But his brain was still looping on the words _mine forever._

“What aren’t you telling me?” he whispered.

Derek leaned down again and knocked their foreheads together, “So many things.”

Stiles breath hitched, and he wanted to push him back was even preparing himself to, but Derek’s fingers smoothed down to his neck and cradled the back of his head, and he sighed letting the calm wash over him, “When are you going to tell me?”

Derek let out a breath and pushed even closer nudging their noses together, “When you’re ready.”

Stiles shook his head, “How are you so sure that I’m not ready now? What does age have to do with anything? Look at Scott and Allison! They’re pretty much married, and want to be with each other forever! How can you know what I want? Or whether I’m ready or not?”

Derek’s nose nudged his cheek and his fingers tightened, “Because I thought Kate Argent was the love of my life.”

Stiles felt that as if it was a slap to the face. He moved his hands wrapping them around the back of Derek’s neck, “I’m not Kate.”

Derek’s shoulders moved and he shook his head, “I know that. You don’t remind me of Kate. You remind me of me. And how I was willing to give up everything just to get one kiss from her.”

“You’re not planning on burning down my house, though,” Stiles felt the urge to point out.

Derek let out a breath and made to pull back but Stiles tightened his fingers around his neck. He stayed where he was and rubbed their cheeks together, “Of course not.”

“One kiss isn’t going to kill us.”

Derek laughed humorlessly, “That’s not the problem. The problem is that I’m not sure I could stop at just one kiss.”

“I don’t think I’d let you,” Stiles whispered and moved his head and pressed his lips on Derek’s cheek.

Derek breathing increased and his mouth was right by Stiles ear, “Stiles, please just think about this. Really think about this. And then think about it again. Do you really want to spend the rest of your life with me? Are you willing to give up going to a fancy college and settle down in this town, in this house, with me, and our pack for the rest of your life? Are you sure that you’d be able to stand that? I know you, and you’re bursting to get out of this place and make a name for yourself. I want to give you that. I won’t take it away from you. I’ll wait, until you’re ready, even if it takes years.”

Stiles pulled back then, “Lydia is still planning on getting into Harvard.”

Derek nodded his head, “Yeah, but Lydia won’t be my mate.”

And that was the word. The word that had been flirting around the edges of Stiles memory and teasing him the knowledge it held. So it _was_ a bizarre werewolf thing.

“I’m your mate?” Stiles asked a little breathlessly.

Derek nodded and his eyes looked pained, “We’re already twined together enough that I can influence your emotions by just being around you. You calm down my wolf even when it wants to go on a murder rampage. You have Jackson wrapped around your little finger even though he’s resisting. Look up what it means. And tell me that you want this forever.”

He pressed his lips on Stiles forehead and then stepped back untangling Stiles hands from the back of his neck.

Stiles was still a little bit flabbergasted.

“Go take a shower before it gets dark. I left some clothes out there for you. Scott took your car, so I’ll drive you home when you’re ready.”

Stiles nodded his head slowly.

Derek stepped away and walked around him and to the couch.

Stiles felt his knees go wobbly and the pain shot up his thigh making him wince a little bit.

He had never felt so confused in his life. He looked back at Derek who had sat down on the ratty old couch that Stiles had dragged from his basement (and had presented it to him as a place for him to sleep) with his head in his hands. He took a deep breath and walked over to the shed to take his shower and maybe get his brain restarted enough to work through this problem.

Because that had been a lot of information, and Stiles wasn’t entirely sure what to do with it.

In retrospect, he really should have seen this coming.

\----

It would be fitting that around the time that Jackson is finally warming up to Erica (which had something to do with the fact that Derek still allowed him over for sleepovers and still treated Jackson the same) is when Stiles finds six year old Isaac in-between the bookshelves of the library.

It had been two weeks since the revelation, and Stiles had exhausted his entire internet prowess looking for information. He’d printed out anything he found, and spent his Free Days at home reading through them without Derek’s snoring as a background noise. It made him feel sad, but he guessed that Derek was going to give him space until he decided what he wanted. And Stiles was just really looking for a loophole that told him that he could still have Derek and go to Berkeley the fall after senior year.

He understood that the pack needed them as a unit. That they would all be stronger if Stiles and Derek mated, but there was no threat. Well the hunters were always going to be a threat, but the point of this whole thing was that why did it have to be so complicated?

Why couldn’t he and Derek fool around and he could go to college and then come back during his breaks and spend them with Derek, and have Derek spend weekends in his predictably shitty dorm room and help him sexile his roommate? Why did they have to be mates? Why couldn’t they just be boyfriends? Why did it have to feel like an almost physical ache to be away from them?

Stiles was already getting separation anxiety. And it had just been a week since he’d been to the Hale House. Everyone was worried, but since he saw the rest of them at school the self-inflicted wound on his chest wasn’t festering, yet. It was Sunday obligatory training day, but Stiles wasn’t there. He was in the library trying to find more information on pack dynamics and mates, and really books were much better than the internet, except he couldn’t highlight in books, which was pretty sad. But he liked taking notes anyway.

Sure they were in disarray and there were some instances where his handwriting was truly atrocious but all in all, he was beginning to despair.

There was no loophole. If Stiles and Derek had sex, they would be bound together, forever. As in until death do us apart, and even then there were instances where ghosts of the dearly departed stayed around. That actually made him stop short and think about his mom. If she was still around looking out for his dad, and for him. Always there watching but out of sight.

It made him feel simultaneously sick to his stomach and sort of happy.

It wasn’t the binding our souls together bit that he was worried about. Which he should’ve been given the fact that he was sixteen, had never had sex, and the only other person he’d liked before Derek was Lydia. The thing that he was worried about was the fact that apparently it causes mates physical pain to be apart from each other. If Stiles and Derek mated and are apart for more than a couple of days (which roughly translated to two days with headaches after just a few hours), it’s entirely possible for one of them to fall into a coma. Why was this even a thing? How was this a thing? Why couldn’t Stiles have his cake and eat it too?

He slumped against his seat hitting his head against the books and groaning. He really needed to talk to Derek to clear this entire thing up, to tell him what was fact and what was fiction. Because this was all just impossible.

He had an impossible _love._ Fuck, he was in love with _Derek._ He had an impossible love with Derek Hale.

He waited for the panic attack to hit, but it didn’t. He had apparently already accepted this fact. He just hadn’t admitted it to himself yet.

He heard a sob, and thought it was coming from him but then he realized that he wasn’t crying as much as he was almost mourning, and he looked up and around to hear that the crying was coming somewhere in-between the bookshelves. He stood up, and went to investigate.

Maybe it would be a nice girl (or guy) who wanted to talk and would be grateful and kiss him and wouldn’t demand his soul in exchange, but it was neither. It was this little kid with dark curls, and he was holding himself in a way that made it seem like if he was trying to stop himself from crying, and before Stiles was aware of it he was kneeling right next to him his hand hovering over his head, “Hey there little buddy.”

The kid’s head snapped up and Stiles moved his hand in time to stop him from hitting his hand. And his eyes were wide and anguished, way too anguished for such a little kid. Stiles didn’t think kids this small deserved that kind of anguish, and there was a fading bruise on his cheek, and blood on his lip, and there were freaking fading finger marks around his neck, and Stiles hoped with his whole entire being that it wasn’t his parents who did this to him, because he was going to sick the pack on them so hard they wouldn’t even _feel it._

He tried smiling for the kid, “It’s okay. I’m not gonna hurt you.”

The kid trembled blinking his watery blue eyes at Stiles, and flinched back when Stiles tried to touch him again. And that’s when Stiles realized that that was blood on the kids hands (dried blood, but still blood), and holy shit, this was all happening way too fast.

“Want to tell me where your parents are?”

The kid shook his head really fast and he started tearing up again. Stiles felt the overwhelming urge to wrap his arms around him and tuck him into his chest and take him Derek and have the pack help him take care of him, because this would not do. No one deserved to be left all alone in the world, and least of all someone so little.

“Okay,” Stiles sat down next to him leaning against the shelves. “My name is Stiles. What’s your name?”

The kid seemed to relax a little now that Stiles wasn’t hovering over him, but he was still curled into himself.

“Isaac,” the little kid whispered, and if Stiles hadn’t been straining himself to hear, he probably wouldn’t have heard it.

“Okay Isaac,” Stiles said. “How old are you?”

“Six.”

And Stiles felt that urge all over again, but he was aware that it would probably do him more harm than good.

“I know you don’t want to, but I need to know where your parents are. I can take you to them,” he said hopefully.

Six year-old Isaac looked back at him with teary blue eyes that flashed gold before he let out a small wail and started crying all over again. And fuck, he was a werewolf. Was it even _legal_ to turn a human this young?

Stiles took a deep breath and pulled out his phone to text Derek, “Are you calling the cops?”

Stiles turned his head to Isaac and saw that his eyes were wide with fear, “You want me to call the cops?”

Isaac shook his head fast and his eyes teared up some more. Stiles sighed, “I want to help you, okay. I’ll believe anything you tell me. I’ve seen some pretty strange sh-uh things. Some pretty strange things.”

Isaac just looked at him and Stiles tried to look as trustworthy as possible. When he still didn’t speak, Stiles sighed and set his cellphone down on top of his lap, “Was it an animal attack?”

Isaac eyes widened even more.

Stiles cleared his throat, “I’ve had a few experiences with animal attacks. My best friend was bitten by one.”

Isaac looked away and his hand went down to his side and Stiles was so right, he wished he hadn’t been. He wished that the gold in his eyes had just been a trick of the light, but of course not.

“It was night, and daddy had gotten mad at mommy, and he…” He trailed off his little hands twitching. And Stiles felt the urge to kill. He finally knew what Derek meant when he said he could’ve torn apart those hunters for hurting Stiles. “I was crying when I heard it. It was a howl, and a huge wolf just came to the room, and it hurt my mommy and daddy, and they were covered with…” He trailed off again looking at his hands. “And I thought that it was going to hurt me too, so I ran, but it jumped on me, and it bit me on the side. I got up and ran away. And I hid in the garbage cans when it got light out, and it felt like it was following me. But it stopped, and I hid in here because I was scared. And it felt safe.”

He looked back up at Stiles, “Are my mommy and daddy okay?”

Stiles wanted to answer him but he didn’t know, probably not if Stiles had anything to say about it. But this was all Isaac knew, and Jesus he’d been out on the streets for at least two days.

He took a deep breath and nodded to himself coming to a decision before looking back down at Isaac, “I’m not sure about that. But I promise you that I’m going to find out. I have some place where you can stay, there will be other people there, but they will be on their absolute best behavior I promise, and you can take a bath, and everything.”

Isaac stopped crying, but his eyes were still as wide, “Will you be there?”

Stiles bit his lip and smiled, “Of course I will. I won’t leave your side.”

“Promise?” Isaac whispered holding out his pinky.

Stiles hooked their pinkies together and gave him a smile, “I promise.”         

\----

Isaac had fallen asleep once he got inside of Stile’s jeep. Stiles had wrapped him up in his hoodie and was doing ten over the speed limit drumming his fingers nervously against the wheel and biting his lip a lot. He kept running commentary to himself and occasionally looked in his rear view mirror to see if they were being followed.

He visibly relaxed when he was pulling up to the clearing in front of the Hale House. They had been busy in the week that Stiles had been gone, because there were walls now, and they certainly weren’t there the last time Stiles was here. The house was beginning to look like a quaint little house in the prairie. That overwhelming sense of pride was back.

There was no one there. So it was hide and seek day. Stiles was glad that he had decided to go to the library then, in more ways than one. He looked over at Isaac who stirred and opened his eyes to look at Stiles sleepily.

Stiles resisted the urge to reach out and ruffle his hair.

“We’re here, but there is no one home. You want to shower? I’ll get you something to wear. You may have to reuse your underwear until I can get more things.”

Isaac just nodded slowly.

Stiles got out of the car, and opened the door for Isaac to get out as well. Isaac held out his arms, and Stiles picked him up and he buried his face in Stiles neck sniffing, and it was such a normal werewolf thing to do that Stiles just wanted to crush him to his chest and never let him go.

Isaac waited sitting down on the couch while Stiles found one of Derek’s shirts to put him in. He took him out to the shed, and helped him take off his clothes, and helped him clean himself washing the blood away and trying not to cringe at the way his body was marked with scars, and fading bruises, and the bite mark that was completely healed on his side. He clothed the kid, and picked him up again throwing his clothes away because they were bloody. He sat down with him on the couch, and Isaac leaned against his chest and fell asleep again. Stiles carefully placed him on the couch, and wrapped his hoodie around him again ruffling his hair and leaning down to press a kiss on top of his head.

If Stiles had it his way, Isaac would want for nothing for the rest of his life.

He sat down outside on the steps and waited for his pack to return.

It didn’t take long, predictably Jackson was the first on the scene, and he was smiling at Stiles. He barely had time to prepare himself before Jackson had pounced on him making him fall back, “Is this really necessary?”

Jackson pulled back looking sheepish and then glared at Derek. And Stiles saw that the whole pack was there and they were looking around curiously, and Stiles realized that they scented Isaac. He sighed, and it sounded sad to him, so he could only imagine how it sounded to everyone else.

“Now don’t freak out okay?” He starts looking pointedly at Derek. Derek gave him a look back, and Stiles sighed again.

But before he could say anything they were all looking behind him, and Stiles turned to see Isaac wrapped up in his hoodie again standing at the door and watching everyone with wide eyes. He stood up, “Hey buddy, these are the friends I was telling you about.”

Isaac’s gaze snapped from them to Stiles and he practically lurched forward to hug Stiles leg and peek around it to look at the rest of the pack. Stiles picked him up, and settled him on his hip, “Guys this is Isaac. I found him in the library. He’s not from around here. And he was bitten.”

Stiles could see everyone else’s reaction (Jackson was looking murderous, Lydia and Erica were gaping, Allison had her hand over her mouth, and Scott was looking rapidly from Stiles to the kid and back again) but Derek’s reaction was the most important one.

He stepped forward, and Isaac seemed to burrow into Stiles neck, but he tilted his head in a way that made it possible for him to see Derek too.

And then Derek smiled.

And Stiles froze.

Because it wasn’t the smile that he gave Stiles, the one that devastated him and left him feeling weak in the knees and like if he had run a marathon. No this one was softer, and it transformed his face from scary Alpha to big brother that you can trust, but his eyes were sad, like if he was remembering something. Like if Isaac reminded him of someone.

And Isaac seemed to relax right after.

“Hi Isaac,” Derek says stepping closer. “I’m Derek. And I’m going to take care of you okay?”

To say that Isaac jumped from Stiles’ arms to Derek’s was not an understatement. It was a good thing that Derek had good reflexes.

“Alpha,” Isaac says burying his head in Derek’s shoulder and closing his gold tinged eyes. Stiles watched Derek’s face to see that the pain was still there.

Derek made his way pass Stiles grabbing and squeezing his arm before heading back inside of the house.

And that was that, apparently.

\----

After a couple of minutes the silence was broken by Jackson who growled in frustration and left without saying a word. Lydia and Erica teamed up and decided that they were going to go clothes shopping. Stiles took a second to shiver in fear of what they were going to buy Isaac, but managed to slip them the list of the things that he _needed_. He was also worrying about where Isaac was going to stay, but he was pretty sure that Derek was taken with the kid. It wouldn’t be that hard to convince him to stay with him.

Scot had looked like he wanted to say something, but Allison grabbed his hand and tugged him over to the car. She waved at him, and Stiles mouthed, _thanks_. She smiled and started talking about something to Scott. Scott looked back and gave him the look, the one that said that they were going to have _words_ later. Stiles just waved him off.

He stayed sitting there even after Scott had left. He looked out at the woods, and rubbed his arms against the chill. It was almost Christmas, and Stiles knew that this year it was going to be different.

Every year since his mom had died, it had been just him and his dad and a present or two, and then Stiles would ignore the fact that his dad would hide out in his room after opening the present, and he would knock softly against his door and tell him that he was going to Scott’s to exchange presents, but he was really just driving around until the road blurred due to his tears and he felt like if he couldn’t breathe. And he’d couch himself through his panic attack and then drive back home in time for eating pizza while watching A Christmas Carol.

This year, he had his pack, and he was going to make sure that his dad felt the closeness that he shared with them too. Even if that meant having a few uncomfortable conversations with him beforehand.

He didn’t hear Derek walking out of the house but he felt it when he put his jacket across his shoulders. And Stiles shuddered a bit, because the jacket was warm. He put the jacket on properly and looked over at Derek who sat down next to him. He looked a little bit sad, but more content than Stiles had ever seen him look. He reached out and placed his hand over Derek’s knee, and Derek placed his hand on top of his and squeezed it lightly.

“He reminds me of my little brother,” Derek whispered hoarsely. And Stiles wanted to crawl into his lap and cradle him to his chest, and let him cry on his shoulder. But Derek squeezed his hand. Stiles just breathed and turned his hand tangling their fingers together and squeezing back. Stiles wanted to say something, anything about that. To tell him that he understood the pain of losing someone so close to you. To tell him that he was there just in case he ever needed to talk to anyone.

But he just let Derek hold his hand until the tips of his fingers felt numb.

After a couple of minutes, Derek loosened his hold and looked at Stiles. Stiles gave him a small smile, and Derek reached out with his other hand to swipe at Stiles’ cheek, “You have ink smudged right there.”

Stiles blushed and moved his other hand to wipe at it. But Derek just shook his head, and he licked his thumb, and reached out again and swiped at Stiles’ cheek until the mark was gone, and then he’d continued stroking down Stiles cheek and cupped his hand against his throat. Stiles swallowed reflexively, “Um, I was at the library doing research.”

Derek nodded his eyes glued to Stiles mouth. Stiles licked his lips and felt Derek’s fingers spasm against his neck.

“What did you find out?”

And Stiles really wanted to answer that question, he really did. He wanted to ask questions and demand that Derek tell him the truth, but Derek’s hand was on his throat and his thumb was sweeping along his Adam’s apple, and his nails were digging into the nape of his neck, and it seriously took _all_ of Stiles self-control to not launch himself at Derek and fuck it all.

“I can’t think straight if you’re touching me,” Stiles whispered.

Derek let out a breath and moved his hand from his neck, and Stiles felt as if he had crashed back to earth. He closed his eyes and shook his head.

“Sorry,” Derek whispered letting go of his hand. Stiles shook his head again.

He cleared his throat and wiped his hands on his knees because his palms were sweaty, and he wanted Derek’s hands back on him, but he resisted the urge to ask him that and started talking.

“I don’t know what to believe. Everything I’ve read talks about soul bonding, and being so attuned to each other that you’ll be able to feel a backlash of my emotions. There were ceremonies, and it involved a lot of biting. And then there is the binding clause. Which is the thing that won’t allow us to be too far from each other without experiencing pain and maybe falling into a coma. I just want you to tell me if that’s true, if that’s what _this_ means. Because I want to be with you. I want us to be together, but I don’t know if I can live the rest of my life here.”

“I respect your decision,” And there was something so robotic about that that it made Stiles cringe. He turned to Derek and immediately began shaking his head.

“Don’t do that,” he whispered kneeling right next to Derek and cupping his face in his hands so Derek was looking at him. “You were right. I don’t really know what I want. But I know I want you. And I know that you’re probably going to be the greatest love of my life, but you told me you’d give me time. That wasn’t a decision. That was indecision. I want you so much sometimes I can’t breathe, and I don’t want to give that up. I’m confused, and this whole binding us for life thing is giving me weird vibes, but I’m immature when it comes to commitment. Just give me time. Until I turn eighteen. Eighteen is a well-rounded number. I’ll be an adult then capable of making adult decisions. Or maybe twenty-one is better. Legal to drink and all, but no eighteen. Give me the next two years to decide what I can’t live without okay?”

Stiles was aware that it was more like a year and a half, but a bunch of things could happen in that time.

Derek looked at him for such a long time that Stiles thought that he was going to say no but then he nodded his head, “Okay. When you’re eighteen.”

Stiles let out a breath and sat back on his heels moving his hands from Derek’s face.

He smiled at Derek and Derek half smiled back, “What are we going to do about Isaac?”

“I’ll keep him with me,” Derek’s eyes were pained again. “He told me what happened with his parents. And I don’t think they’d have survived that.”

Stiles bit his lip shaking his head, “I don’t think so either. I was planning on going researching it when I get home. But we can go back to the apartment and wait for Lydia and Erica there. They’re buying him the things that he needs. I made sure to give them a list. I have my laptop in my bag in the car.”

Derek looked at him and smiled, like how he smiled that first time when Stiles had woken up on top of him, “You’re instincts for what my pack needs is one of those things that makes us mates you know. I’m proud that you’re my prospective mate.”

And Stiles blushed, because that was a really good compliment better than the one Erica’s dad had given him, and it was even better because it was coming from Derek, and Stiles had to look away before he did something ridiculous like kiss him.

He stood up, “Okay. I have a copy of your key. I’ll go first and you take Isaac with you. I’ll see you over there.”

He was escaping, and not doing a good job at it, because he almost tumbled down the stairs if it wasn’t for Derek swooping in and catching him.

Stiles gulped as he was set down on his feet, “Good reflexes. Awesome reflexes actually.” But Derek was too close for him to actually babble too much, and he thought that he was going to be kissed, but Derek just shook his head and let Stiles go.

Stiles stumbled back and turned around heading to his car with a purpose, but before he got far Derek spoke again, “Oh and Stiles.”

Stiles turned around almost falling back again, and Derek was there holding him and his mouth was right there against Stiles’ mouth, but not touching, and Stiles felt his knees go weak and he wanted to protest, but he really didn’t, “Drive safe.”

The words took a moment to register into his brain and Derek had let him go, and Stiles just stood there. He sucked in a breath and shook his head to get rid of the freaking spell Derek had put on him, “Wow, you don’t play fair.”

Derek smiled at him again chuckling, “I never did say I was going to.”

And he walked away, and Stiles did not stand there and watch his ass, no he did not, but that would be a lie, and he was so fucking _screwed_.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Where Derek has a case of love bi-polar, Stiles' milkshake brings all the boys to the yard, and Jackson is emphatic, no seriously.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I know I promised an update by Tuesday, but Monday's episode gave me way too many FEELS! AND I JUST COULDN'T WRITE ANYMORE! This also turned out longer than I expected and there will be another chapter! Yay?

“So you and Derek, huh?” Scott says the second that Stiles enters his room.

It would’ve surprised him, but he was used to it by now.

Stiles dropped his bag on the floor, and set aside the cookies that he had made with Isaac, “Didn’t we already have this conversation?”

Scott snorts from where he is lying back on Stiles bed, “Um, no.”

Stiles sits down beside him to tug off his shoes, “I’m pretty sure we did. After the thing-that-no-one-speaks-about, you asked me if Derek used protection. I told you that he has more self-control than you do. You whimpered and said that you were not going to fuck me. And I told you not even in your kinkiest wet dreams. Then we proceeded to have a pillow fight, and you tackled me into bed and told me that you were glad my virtue was still intact.”

Scott made a face at him, “Not what I meant. Besides I was high. Do we need to talk about this?”

Stiles made a face back at him, “You never share. And no, no talking about it. It’s forbidden or something. It’s like you guys are afraid that if I mention it you’ll turn into horny werewolves and attack me.”

“It’s not that dude,” Scott sat up leaning against the wall. “Derek said that we shouldn’t talk about it to keep you from being embarrassed. And I meant about the whole mates thing.”

“You know about the mates’ thing?”

Scott rolled his eyes, “Everyone knows. We can smell it. It sort of like this comforting scent. It’s literally what it keeping us from being at each other’s throats all of the time. You ground Derek, so it grounds us. Kind of like a domino effect. Or at least that’s how Lydia explained it.”

“Huh,” Stiles says moving and sitting down next to Scott. “What else do you know about mates?”

Scott furrowed his brows, “Derek hasn’t told you?”

Stiles looks down at his hands, “Other than its forever. Everything else I found out by myself. The whole soul-binding-painful-to-be-apart thing. I can’t believe that I finally find someone who not only is really fucking hot, but also that wants me back, and we can’t even have sex.”

There was nothing remotely funny about the situation, but there is Scott laughing. Stiles huffed crossing his arms and waited for his so called best friend to calm down.

“Sorry,” he says between laughter. “It’s just that, that’s not it at all.”

“What do you mean?”

Scott stopped laughing and blushed, “Well, I talked to him about it, after everything that happened, just to make sure that it was alright for me and Allison, to, you know.” He coughed and looked away from Stiles before he kept talking. “And he says it’s okay as long as I don’t bite her. Biting is what makes the soul binding thing. He says that the bite has to be given during a period of heightened passion and complete openness for it to take. He did warn me that it’s more probable for the mating bond to form if Allison was a virgin when I first bite her, but I talked to Allison about it, and she was fine with it. Can we talk about something else now?”

Stiles grabbed his phone and debated whether or not to send a text to Derek saying that they needed to have another conversation about this mates’ thing, but he set his phone aside and looked at Scott who was blushing to the tips of his ear, “Sure, what else do we have to talk about? I know I’ve been neglecting you the past few weeks, but to be fair, you neglected me for Allison when you started dating.”

“Isaac,” Scott says completely ignoring Stiles last statement like he knew he would.

Stiles got up from the bed to get the cookies, “What about Isaac?”

“Dogs that have been abused by their owners are extremely skittish and distrustful of people. Not that I’m calling Isaac a dog, but he’s a werewolf, so the instinct is there. What I’m trying to say is that for a kid who’s been abused he took to you and Derek fast.”

Stiles held out a cookie while munching on one thoughtfully, “That’s because you didn’t see how long it took me to get him to come with me. With Derek I think it’s more of that instinct thing, Derek is an Alpha and his wolf is just looking for someone to take care of him. He took to Erica pretty quickly too. Let her give him a bath and dress him. He didn’t growl at Lydia, but he did hide behind Derek when she held out her arms to hug him. I’ve never seen her look so devastated. Derek says that the thing with Erica just confirms his theory that they were both bitten by the same Alpha.”

Scott was looking out the window and holding his phone in his hands completely ignoring Stiles cookie. Stiles swallowed the last bite, and sat back down next to him, “What happened with Allison?”

Scott turned to look at him, “Nothing. Just she’s been talking about asking Derek for the bite.”

Stiles bit into another cookie, “Why? She’s kick-ass with the bows and arrows. The Katniss of our group. A Legolas in her own right. The Hawkeye to your Black Widow. She has a way to defend herself. She doesn’t need superwerewolf abilities. And besides isn’t there some sort of unspoken agreement with the Argents that make that impossible? Something along the lines of ‘you bite her, we kill you in the most painful way possible.’”

Scott sighs nodding, “She says that she doesn’t feel like part of the pack because she’s human. That you don’t count because you’re the Alpha’s. That she wants to feel that pack bond we talk so much about.”

Stiles looked out the window too wanting suddenly for Derek to appear and kick Scott out. He wanted to fall asleep next to Derek and ask him about this whole mates thing for real. Because assuring him that Stiles still hadn’t made a decision was one thing, but he still had questions that Scott was obviously too embarrassed to answer.

Scott slumped back leaning his head against Stiles shoulder and let out another sigh. Stiles reeled his thoughts in and thought about what he knew about pack dynamics. A werewolf became a member of a pack if they were bitten by the Alpha of said pack or they submitted to him. Scott had submitted, so had Lydia. Erica had done it by becoming vulnerable in his presence and crying. Isaac when he called him Alpha. Jackson was already Derek’s. The only one he’d bitten. Stiles hadn’t exactly submitted, but everything had shifted after that day that no one speaks about.

Stiles cleared his throat, “Um, has Allison submitted to Derek as her Alpha?”

Scott sat up again and looked at Stiles with wide eyes, “No. Since she’s human I thought it wasn’t necessary.”

“I think it’s necessary,” Stiles whispered gently.

Scott scrambled off the bed causing Stiles to tip over into the side he’d vacated, “I’m gonna go talk to Derek.”

Stiles reached out grabbing the back of his shirt and tugging, “Not a good idea. He was asleep with Isaac when I left.”

Scott threw himself back on the bed. Stiles put the cookies aside and lay down next to him, “Tomorrow is a brand new day. You’ll be able to talk to both of them. But more importantly we should sleep, because I for one am tired. Dealing with a six year-old is tiring.”

Scott twisted taking off his shoes and settled next to Stiles wrapping one arm around his stomach and lying his head on top of Stiles shoulders.

Stiles settled down putting his arm on top of Scott’s and holding on to his elbow.

“You smell like home,” Scott mumbled. “Before my parent’s got divorced.”

Stiles gripped his elbow and squeezed his eyes shut.

He fell asleep pretending that he couldn’t hear Scott crying.

\----                                                                                                                              

The next two weeks are spent in a flurry of activity.

First, Allison decides to skip school and drags Scott with her to Derek’s apartment so that she can submit to him. It was easy peasy lemon squeezy, all she had to do was bare her throat and let Derek put his claws against it. It was the utmost symbol of trust.

It would’ve been good and all but Scott was apparently a lot more jealous than Derek and Mr. Argent and Scary Momma Alpha had appeared at Derek’s apartment the next day to demand why Allison had a bite mark on her throat. Stiles had to stop playing with Isaac in his room to step in between them and explain the situation because Derek was growling already half shifting, and Mr. Argent had already taken off the safety on his gun, and really Stiles didn’t want to think what would happen if they killed Derek.

If it wasn’t for Allison bursting through the door and explaining that it was Scott who had bitten her (in exactly the same place that Derek had touched her Stiles was not surprised to see, the next time he saw Scott he was going cuff his little werewolf ass) Stiles was pretty sure they would have died. He had seen his life flashing before his eyes, and it was oddly pathetic to see that the most exciting things he’d done with it had been in the last few months.

Allison had left with her parents who were yelling at her and throwing words around like ‘grounded for life’ and ‘sex-ban’ and something about getting her checked out by a doctor. Stiles wondered briefly what would’ve happened if Derek had had to bite her to make her feel like pack. But all of this was briefly because the second the door closed Stiles was against the wall with a growling Derek trying to smother himself in his throat.

Stiles kept his heart calm with a few techniques he’d learned in those yoga videos to control his heart rate around the wolves.

After a few minutes Stiles could make out that Derek was mumbling into his collarbone. He cleared his throat, and flexed his hands from where they were trapped between his chest and Derek’s, “Anything you want to share with the class there?”

Derek moved pressing his mouth against his throat and pulled back to glare at Stiles, “That was really stupid. Why did you do that? Standing in front of a gun? What if he’d shot me, and go you instead?”

Stiles pushed at him, and Derek let himself be pushed and it pissed Stiles to no end because he wouldn’t have been able to move him otherwise, “First of all, you’re the one that’s stupid, letting them make you lose control like that!”

“They barged into my territory, Stiles! What else was I supposed to do?!”

Stiles ignored him, “Second of all, if I hadn’t stepped in you would’ve been a dead Alpha, and then what? Scott told me the only reason they’re all so calm and not out of control, is because we are a unit, we keep them grounded. _WE._ Not you alone. Not me alone. But us. What do you think it would have done to the pack? What do you think it would have done to me?! You can’t just go shifting and killing people Derek! That’s a sure fire way to end up dead! I stepped in between you guys because I knew the Argents wouldn’t kill me because I’m human! So next time why don’t you let me handle them!”

Stiles was breathing heavily by the end of his tirade. And Derek wasn’t glaring anymore. He was looking at him with these eyes, and Stiles remembers that look, because it was the way his dad was looking at his mom in the wedding picture they have on the mantle, and it made his knees feel weak and all of the anger left him.

Derek stepped forward reaching out for his hands and threading their fingers together before leaning in and resting their foreheads together, “I’m sorry. I got scared. I was afraid that they were going to kill you or Isaac. And I can’t handle losing my family again. I won’t be able to handle losing you at all. If you thought I was bad before…”

He trailed of and Stiles squeezed their fingers together shaking his head and tilting his head back until his lips were almost touching Derek’s, “Not gonna lose me. I can take care of myself.”

Derek huffed out a laugh, and Stiles shivered at the moist heat against his mouth causing his lips to part as he took in a breath. They breathed like that for a bit before Derek stepped back and pressed a kiss on his forehead, “I just want to take care of you.”

Stiles didn’t say anything just wrapped his arms around Derek’s waist and hugged him tight, “I want to take care of you too.”

The moment was broken by Isaac who peeked around the hallway and murmured, “Is it safe to come out yet?”

Stiles just let out a laugh and motioned him to come over, and he ran to them. Derek let Stiles go to pick him up, and Isaac wrapped one arm around Derek’s neck and one around Stiles and hugged them together.

Later Stiles would slip out of Derek’s bed, where they had taken a nap and had been cuddling Isaac between them, and if he took a picture of Isaac and Derek curled around each other sleeping, that was between him and his phone.

\----

The next thing that made those two weeks too crazy for him and Derek to sit down and have that conversation about mates that they needed to have, was Isaac’s adoption.

Stiles had found out that his parents were dead, and it had taken three days to get Isaac to voluntarily eat something, or play. Stiles was positive that it might have taken longer if it wasn’t for the way the pack had all crashed at Derek’s apartment never leaving him alone for a second.

They also had to explain to his dad the situation, because they had to go to the police to report him as a missing child so that they could get the adoption process going, and Stiles told him as much as the truth as he could. His dad gave him a look that says they’ll be having conversations later, and Stiles had nodded resigned.

There was also the fact that while social services checked Derek’s background (which still had the arrest reports and the wanted for murder thing even though he’d been cleared it did make it ten times more difficult for him to actually get custody of Isaac), and set up a meeting to check his apartment, and he put together his dossier (all of which was probably going to take months!), they had wanted Isaac to stay in an adoption agency. Isaac had screamed and cried and had hung on to Stiles knees and wouldn’t let him go.

And Stiles had picked him up and had looked at his dad, and his dad had volunteered his home as a temporary foster care. They had a guest room that no one was using that Isaac was more than welcome to.

The lady with the pointy heels from social services had agreed but only cause Isaac seemed fond of Stiles.

Derek and Isaac had said goodbye to each other at the station with Isaac crying in his shoulder and Derek rubbing his back and whispering in his ear.

Stiles knew that they were going to see each other again, because Stiles was going to take Isaac with him during pack meetings and who else was going to take care of him when he was at school? But he also knew that Isaac had gotten used to sleeping in Derek’s bed, and he also knew that the guest room was not going to be seeing any action at all. Isaac was probably going to spend most of his time with Stiles in his room.

Derek had passed him over to Stiles and Isaac went willingly wrapping his arms tightly around Stiles neck and whispering, “Don’t let me go.”

Stiles looked at Derek trying not to cry, and he knew that Derek wanted to reach out and touch him, and probably gather them both to his chest. He was vibrating with the need to, but his dad was right there and so was the lady from social services, and they really didn’t need to add ‘has an underage lover’ to the list of things keeping Isaac from officially being Derek’s son.

He left and Stiles tried not to feel as though he’d taken a piece of his heart with him.

It was stupid, because this wasn’t the end; they were all going to be together again. Tomorrow they were going to the Hale House to sit down and play outside while the wolves ran through the forest.

So he didn’t start sobbing like he wanted to, but he did ask his dad and the social security lady (whose name he is going to refuse to learn) if he could go home to get Isaac settled.

About an hour or so later, Stiles was finally able to get Isaac to take a nap, and he’d walked downstairs to get started on dinner.

He had done the mac n cheese and was turning the chicken in the oven when his dad walked through the door. He waited until his dad had taken off his holster and had set his jacket aside to say, “Dinner is almost ready.”

He looked over to his dad, who was nodding, and then he was looking at Stiles, and Stiles let out a breath, “First of all, it’s not sketchy. I found Isaac in the woods, and he’d been crying, and I didn’t know what else to do.”

“So you took him to Derek’s?”

Stiles shrugged, “It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“Why didn’t you call me?”

Stiles scratched the top of his head, and tried to come out with a reason of why he’d taken him to Derek’s, because being bitten by a werewolf wasn’t going to fly. He knew he should’ve just told his dad the truth from the start, but the pack had to be kept secret to protect them. He bit his lip, and his dad just kept looking at him.

Stiles opened his mouth, and started speaking, “It’s not that I don’t trust you, but he was so dirty and he looked beaten up and I just wanted to get him somewhere where I could clean him off and get him clothes and put him to sleep. Somewhere where he would feel safe. And then he got taken by Derek who looked like his older brother or something and Derek had almost cried dad, saying that he reminded him of his younger brother, and they looked so happy. And I didn’t want to separate them. Derek’s already lost enough, don’t you think? But I knew we had to do this the right way or else they’d take him away forever, and I just don’t think I could live with that if it happened.”

His dad looked at him shaking his head, “You’re already in love with the kid aren’t you?”

Stiles mouth dropped open a little, “Who?”

His dad gave him a stern look, “Isaac. Is there something going on between you and Derek?”

Stiles shook his head and went back to check the chicken.

He could practically feel his dad’s disbelief, “Stiles, do we need to have a conversation about the statutory rape laws in California?”

Stiles turned around, “There is nothing going on! We’re just friends who happened to bond over a little kid. That is all!”

He tried to stress the words and sound as truthful as possible.

His dad still didn’t look like he believed him, “Do you want there to be something going on?”

Stiles tried so hard not to blush, “Dad! Even if I wanted something, which I don’t! Do you even think he’d look my way?”

That’s partly true, at least. Stiles had definitely felt that way before the whole incident no one speaks of. Sure now he knew better, but before, it had only been a fantasy, something to indulge in during his nightly happy alone times with his dick.

“I think he’s already looking your way kid, if the look he gave you before he left was anything to go by.”

Stiles almost burns his hands. He jumped back and turned to his dad again, “What do you want me to say?”

“Promise me that if he ever does something that you’re not comfortable with you’ll tell me immediately. I’ll have his ass so fast in a jail cell his head will be spinning.”

Stiles nodded, “I promise to tell you if he does anything I’m not comfortable with.”

His dad closed his eyes, “Ah hell kid, I wish that you were that tiny again so that I could lock you up and not let you go. I know you’re sixteen and you’re getting older, and you’re starting to want things, and wanting to be in relationships, and Derek might not be the one instigating advances, it might be you, because I’m not blind, I also saw the way you were looking at him. But I just want you to be safe. No, I need you to be safe. I can’t lose you. You still got two years to go before you leave the nest. And I can already see that you’re half way out the door, and that if I push you’ll probably run straight to him, and I don’t want that. I’m not condoning this relationship because the law is the law. Just promise me to be careful. And think everything three times through before you do it.”

Stiles had never heard his dad talk so much since his mom’s death. He stepped forward and wrapped his arms around his dad’s waist and hugged him tight, willing himself not to cry.

His dad’s arms wrapped around him even tighter, “You’re all I got kid. And you’re growing up so fast. I barely see you anymore you know. You spend all your time helping Hale build his house, and I know it’s a group of you, and I’d be more suspicious, but I trust you.”

“Everything is going to work out fine dad,” Stiles whispered. “You’re not losing me. You just have to share me with more people than Scott now. You did tell me earlier this year that I don’t have enough friends.”

His dad laughed, “And I promise to take things slow with Derek.”

His dad let out a breath and pulled back, “So there is a you and Derek?”

Stiles wriggled uncomfortably face flushing, “Dad!”

His dad shook his head, “Okay, I trust you. But no sex, until you’re at least eighteen. If he can’t wait the next two years for you, then he doesn’t deserve you.”

Stiles blushed some more, “It’s a year and a half. And I promise, no sex.”

The sad thing about that promise was that it was probably going to be the only promise he wasn’t going to break.

\----

Isaac had woken up in time to eat dinner, and that had been the end of that conversation. He had Isaac help him set the table, and when they sat down to eat, Isaac sat down beside him with his legs folded underneath him and eating like he was afraid the food would disappear.

Derek had texted him while he was cooking saying something about how Isaac was going to be hungrier than usual because they were close to the full moon and the fact that he’d gone through something emotionally exhausting today.

His dad looked at Isaac in surprise when he asked for seconds with wide blue eyes and a pout, “For someone so tiny, he’s got a big appetite.”

Stiles smiled at that, because he’d said the same thing about Lydia that time that he had the pack stay over for dinner.

Dessert had been some of the cookies that Isaac had helped him make two days earlier and his dad had made exaggerated chewing noises and had moaned obscenely saying how these were the best cookies he’d ever tasted. And Stiles had dropped his head down on the table, because his father was ridiculous, but the little giggle that Isaac made had been worth it.

After helping him with the dishes, Stiles gave Isaac a bath, and put him to sleep in his bed. Stiles waited until he was sleeping to take his own shower.

He wasn’t surprised to come out of the bathroom and find Derek lying on the bed next to Isaac.

He looked at Stiles as he entered the room and closed the door behind him. Stiles put his dirty clothes in the hamper and when he turned around Derek was right there backing him into the wall and pressing his face in his neck. Stiles wrapped his arms around Derek’s shoulders and slipped his fingers in his hair.

They stayed like that for a while before made to step away. Stiles tightened his fingers in his hair and Derek made a noise and rubbed his nose into Stiles neck opening his mouth so that Stiles could feel the imprint of his teeth. He let Derek step back then letting go and let his arms fall to his sides. Derek sat down on the edge of the bed and looked at Stiles.

Stiles stayed against the wall and took a deep shuddering breath, “I think my dad knows about us.”

Derek looked at him somewhat it alarm. Stiles shrugged helplessly, “It’s more of an ‘I know’ something about the way you looked at me before you left the station.”

Derek closed his eyes, “What did you tell him?”

Stiles glared at him, “That you’re a werewolf and we’re mates and Isaac is our cub. What do you think I told him? Half-truths and full lies. Do you know that I’ve never had to lie to my dad about the important things? Sure I lied about who broke the lamp, or what time I really got home, or the fact that it was me and Scott who graffitied the school that one time, which he never actually bought by the way, because I’m a horrible liar. But I’ve never kept something this huge away from him! And it breaks my heart whenever I lie to him, because he gets caught up in these things too. I just wish I could tell him the truth, that way we’d have the cops on our side in case anything bad happens.”

Derek stood up and started pacing.

Stiles was suddenly glad that his room was so far away from his dad’s because if he had been in the guest room there would’ve been no way he’d have missed that.

Derek stopped and looked at him, “It’s pup, by the way. Isaac is our pup.”

Stiles wanted to keep a hold of his anger. Anger was a good thing to hold on to right now, but Derek said _our pup_ , like if Isaac was theirs. And Stiles was by no means ready to be a dad, but it made his heart clench.

Derek stepped in close again pressing their foreheads together, “I know you want to tell your dad. And we will. I promise. But first we have to make sure it’s safe. I have to take out that Alpha. It’s the only way we’d be safe again. And when I can finally breathe without worrying about all of you, then we’ll tell your dad. Okay?”

Stiles breathed in Derek’s scent and centered himself letting the calm sensation overwhelm him, “Okay.”

Derek smiled pulling back and kissing his forehead. Stiles let out a breath and pushed him away slightly slipping his fingers under the lapel of his jacket and clutching the fabric in his hands, “I talked to Scott about the mates’ thing.”

He didn’t want to look at Derek’s face while he did this. He didn’t want to know why Derek had been keeping this away from him. All he wanted was to put it out there in the open so that Derek knew that he knew and they could talk about why Derek made it seem like if they kissed they’d be bound together for life.

“He told me that in order to bind someone to you for life, you have to bite them during sex, something about you being completely open with that person. Is that true?”

Derek didn’t say anything, but he didn’t back away, and Stiles glanced up at him to see what sort of expression he had on his face, and it was a mixture between annoyance and guilt. Stiles sighed and pushed him all the way back letting him go.

“Wait,” Derek whispers pressing him back against the wall. Stiles closed his eyes refusing to look at him right now. “It’s true. And it’s not that I don’t want you. I’m scared. Scared that I’ll mess this up. That I’ll mess you up. That one day you’ll wake up and I won’t be good enough for you. You’re my mate, Stiles. I’m going to be in love with you for the rest of my life. You don’t have the same compulsions that I do. You can walk away from this unscathed, and fall in love with someone else and I won’t begrudge you because I want you to be happy. Even if it’s not with me. And I respect your decision to have more time to decide, and I’ll probably still try and make it difficult for you to resist me, because I want you to choose me. But I don’t want to tie you down. And I won’t be able to resist if you give me one part of you.”

Stiles could feel his breath catch in his throat as his heart beat thundered in his ears.  He had opened his eyes sometime during that speech, and Derek was there looking at him with those same eyes as before so full of love and want, and it was all Stiles could do to not throw himself at him, “I’m a possessive bastard, Stiles. If I kiss you, I’m not going to want anyone else to kiss you.”

Derek’s eyes turned heated then, and he leaned closer as though what he had to say next was some big secret and whispered, “If I fuck you, you better believe no one else is going to touch you ever again.”

Stiles might have let out a ridiculous sounding moan at that. And he was already half hard, and with the way Derek was pressed up against him there was no way that he didn’t know that, and that most certainly wasn’t Derek’s cellphone in his pants, unless he kept his cellphone in his crotch.

Stiles wanted to open his mouth and tell him that he was in love with him and reassure him that they were going to be great together, and that it didn’t matter about the time, because Stiles had already made a decision, but he wanted to kiss Derek more, and he probably would have, but there was a tiny voice coming from the bed.

“Da-Derek,” and Stiles could feel the way that Derek’s breath hitched, because Isaac had almost called him dad, and Stiles just pushed him back gently and motioned to the bed with his chin.

Derek gave him a grateful look and went over to Isaac.

Stiles sank down to the floor and tried not to have a panic attack while watching Derek lie back down on his bed, with Isaac sprawled all over him Derek’s jacket clutched in his tiny fists holding on tight.

Stiles looked at them for a while, while Derek told him a story in hushed whispers, and he wondered what it would be like to wake up and not want to be a part of their lives. Because essentially that’s what Derek was saying. Essentially, Derek was saying that he didn’t want to tie Stiles down to a relationship that he would eventually get bored of. Essentially, Derek was saying that while he was in love with Stiles and wanted to keep him and would do anything in his power to keep him, as long as he didn’t touch him, Stiles could get away from this without any repercussions.

Essentially, Stiles wanted to punch Derek in the face.

Because how could he even believe that Stiles would come out of this unscathed?

Stiles was already in over his head.

Not only did the pack already treat him like if he was Derek’s mate, but they also swarmed him and scented him as though they were afraid to lose his scent. Scott slept in his bed three times a week. Jackson would appear out of nowhere while Stiles was grocery shopping and trying to avoid the eyes of the creepy salesfloor boy who always seemed to want to help him carry his groceries back to his car, which Stiles took to be a euphemism for something else, and he would tuck Stiles into his side and glare menacingly at the boy. Lydia sat down next to him during lunch and threw her leg over his lap and cuddled into his side whenever she had a fight with her parents. Allison would lie down with her head on his lap and tell him her worries about her and Scott’s relationship. Erica greeted him every morning by wrapping her arms around his neck and breathing into his neck, and did the same thing before he left school. If Derek wasn’t around, Isaac would be glued to his side only letting Erica coax him away from Stiles, but he was slowly coming around to the others.

He called Isaac their pup and then proceeds to tell Stiles that he can walk away from this unscathed.

Stiles was already too invested.

“Stiles?”

Stiles opened his eyes and looked over to see that Isaac was asleep and Derek looked almost asleep but he had left a space for Stiles to crawl in and was waving his hand rather invitingly.

Stiles got up and walked over there. He lay back on the bed letting Derek maneuver him until he was happy with their position, throwing one leg over Stiles’ for good measure, like if Stiles wasn’t already almost plastered to his chest.

Stiles just rolled his eyes and burrowed into Derek’s shoulder wrapping one arm around his chest and grabbing Isaac’s hand.

He waited until he counted one hundred of Derek’s breaths to say, “I’m in love with you too, you big idiot.”

Derek didn’t respond, but he did go still, Stiles didn’t really notice, because he was already falling asleep.

\----

Stiles was lying back on the grass in front of the Hale House, balancing Isaac on his knees while the boy held his hands out and laughed while Stiles made airplane noises.

Isaac had been living with him and his dad for almost a week, and Derek slept over every night. And when Scott came over it was a freaking party of who’s going to smother Stiles first. He has lost count of the amount of times he’s woken up with drool on his shoulder or Isaac spread out on top of him like if Stiles was his own personal pillow or Derek’s face stuffed in his neck breathing and letting out these content little purrs or Scott wrapped around him with his face smushed on top of Stiles stomach.

He might complain about it and tell Scott to sleep in his own bed, and kick Derek out at the crack of dawn so that his father wouldn’t see him when he woke him up in the mornings, but he secretly loved it, not that he was going to tell them that.

Isaac was also starting school tomorrow, so Stiles was doing the best that he could to take his mind of it.

He and Derek had talked about it, and the Sheriff had been their best bet at emergency contacts, because social services didn’t want him to interact with Isaac while they conducted their investigation and Stiles was in school.

Stiles’ dad had been okay with it, but that was mostly because Isaac had him wrapped around his little finger already. Stiles had gotten home from school one day to find his dad and Isaac playing some video game on his Xbox. He had literally stood at the front door with his mouth open, because no matter how many times Stiles had begged his dad to play at least one game with him he’d never given in always stating that he was too old for that thing.

Stiles smiled fondly at Isaac and waited until the little boy started squirming to open his knees at catch him in between his thighs before turning them around and beginning to tickle him. Isaac laughed some more before pushing Stiles back. Stiles grabbed him and rolled down the small hill. They landed with Isaac on top, and the little boy attacked his ribs with unholy glee and then got up screaming, “You can’t catch me!”

And Stiles stood up and ran after him grabbing him around his middle and spinning him around. It was during the fourth spin that he saw him.

He stopped immediately pushing Isaac behind him, “Who are you?”

The guy was tall with dark skin and big, bigger than Derek even, but he didn’t have that air of Alpha around him. He stepped forward and his nostrils flared, and then he began whining low in his throat.

Isaac fingers gripped the back of Stiles’ calves at the noise, and Stiles reached back to pat his head in a reassuring manner.

“I’m not going to ask you again,” Stiles says in a voice much calmer than he felt.

The guy looked at him, and his eyes flashed gold, “My name is Boyd. I followed the scent. I don’t know what’s happening to me.”

And then he fainted.

And great, Stiles thought. Another werepup to add to the family.

He walked over to the fallen wolf and turned him around. Boyd’s eyes were still gold tinged, and his claws were out. Stiles made Isaac sit down right next to him before bending over Boyd’s body and looking into his eyes, “Boyd, right? I need you to please not die on me. Derek can help. I think you might be rejecting the bite, but I’m not really sure. I haven’t gone through one of these yet, and I really don’t want to see the thestrals if Hogwarts turns out to be real okay?”

Which was a moot point because of Peter Hale, but Boyd let out a huff of laughter, and his eyes turned back to normal, and the claws were gone. Stiles smiled, “There you go! All better. Now tell me exactly what happened to you.”

Boyd took a deep breath and then another moving closer to Stiles before lying back down, “I’m not sure. Yesterday, I was walking home from school and out of nowhere this wolf attacked me. But it wasn’t like any wolf that I have ever seen. It was massive, and it bit me right on the side, and it hurt like hell. And then it, well I thought that it bit at my throat, but I passed out so that could’ve just been my imagination. I woke up feeling deranged and started walking. And then I smelled this scent that was so familiar, and so like home back in Missouri before we moved here, and I just followed it until it lead me here. To you and the little guy.”

He turned and half smiled at Isaac, and Isaac smiled back shyly waving.

Stiles stood up and let Isaac get closer, because it didn’t seem like if Boyd was rejecting the bite, but he might still be in the process of changing and it was better to have someone who’s part of your pack near. And that’s what Isaac was since they were both bitten by the same Alpha.

Stiles pulled his cellphone out and sent a message to Derek, _We’ve got another one bitten by the same Alpha._

He wanted to write something about not getting paid enough to wrangle lost puppies, but he didn’t. He just sent the message and sat back down on the floor beside Isaac who was showing Boyd his secret handshake.

He could already see that Boyd was feeling better.

Isaac sat down on top of him playing peek-a-boo and giggling every time Boyd stuck his tongue out at him. Stiles found himself smiling at them.

Until Isaac grabbed his hand and made him lie down right next to Boyd so that he could lie down across them and pretend that they were a talking raft and he was in the middle of the ocean. And then Isaac decided it was a good idea to tickle Boyd and the guy lunged at him but Isaac had already gotten up from where he was on top of Stiles’ intestines and then there was Boyd hovering over him and looking down at him, and Stiles gulped and licked his lips, and he saw the way that Boyd’s eyes followed the movement and he made to push the guy off him, but because this was his life, that’s how the pack found them when they finally made it into the clearing.

At least it was Jackson the one who pulled Boyd off him, because if it had been Derek he might have dislocated his shoulder or something. Stiles scrambled to get up and rushed over to where Jackson had Boyd pinned to a tree. Boyd was struggling to get out, clearly trying not to hurt Jackson, who didn’t seem to have those qualms if the blood that was pouring from his hand where his claws had imbedded in Boyd’s shoulder was anything to go by.

“Jackson! Stop it!”

He tugged on Jackson’s arm, and was pulled away by Derek, “Let him go, Jackson.”

Jackson released him and turned to look at Derek and Stiles with wide golden eyes, and Stiles wanted to reach out to comfort him, but Derek’s fingers tightened on his elbow.

Jackson turned back to Boyd and muttered sorry before walking away.

“Jackson,” Stiles called. Jackson stopped walking for a minute before shaking his head and continuing on his way.

Stiles turned to Derek ripping his arm away, “What was that?”

Derek didn’t say anything. He looked seriously at Stiles and then looked at Boyd who was wiping the blood away from his already healed shoulder, “What’s your name?”

Stiles opened his mouth to tell Derek not to ignore him, but suddenly two pair of arms were dragging him backwards into the house, and there were manicured talons digging into his cheek.

Lydia and Erica dragged him into the house followed by Scott and Isaac who kept looking back at Boyd, who was looking in alarm at the way that Stiles was being dragged.  He tried to telegraph with his hand that he was fine, but he couldn’t move his arms.

Derek hadn’t even turned around.

The rest of the pack pushed him into the couch before invading his personal space.

“You smell like him,” Erica whined into his ear while wrapping her arms and legs around Stiles. Lydia was practically in his lap. Scott was on his other side resting his head on Stiles shoulder, and Isaac sat down on the back of the couch his feet tucked underneath Stiles’ armpits and his arms wrapped around Stiles forehead.

“Not that this isn’t fun and all, but Boyd was bitten by the same Alpha that bit you and Isaac. He’s going to submit to Derek and be pack, why do we have to do this? And why did Jackson overreact like that? Why is Jackson always overreacting? I get that he’s the only one Derek’s bitten and we all share this freaky connection or whatever, but why did he have to hurt Boyd? He didn’t even do anything! We were playing with Isaac, and Isaac jumped across me, and Boyd just happened to get caught in the crossfire. Really. It wasn’t nearly as bad as it looked.”

The pack shared glances around him, and Stiles huffed, “What did your freaky werewolf senses pick up that I couldn’t?”

Lydia patted his cheek distractedly, “Derek’s almost done talking to Boyd, and yes he submitted. I’m surprised.”

The pack nodded in unison, and Stiles just closed his eyes.

He’d ask Derek. Derek would tell him what was going on.

But no, Derek didn’t tell him what was going on.

He’d accepted Boyd as part of the pack, and Boyd avoided even looking at Stiles for the rest of the afternoon, and left with Erica and Lydia when it was time to go home, and when they were alone, all Derek did was press their foreheads together and give Isaac a hug before ruffling his hair and telling Stiles that he wasn’t going to come over tonight.

Stiles wanted to protest.

Mostly because of Isaac, and the fact that he was starting school tomorrow.

But there was that little part of him that had gotten used to having Derek in his bed, and it hurt that Derek wasn’t telling him what was going on.

There was an even bigger part that just wanted to push Derek against the wall and kiss him because of the way his breath hitched when Stiles hugged him like if he hadn’t been expecting it.

But Stiles phone rang, and it was his dad asking why they were late for dinner, and he had to go.

He looked at Derek who had gotten into the Camaro and was waiting for them to go before he left, and sighed before getting into his jeep and driving home.

Isaac was quiet all through the drive and dinner, and even during his bath where he played with the rubber duckies and pretended they were sea monsters.

It wasn’t until Stiles had tucked him into bed that he asked, “Is Derek mad at me?”

Stiles shook his head and lay down next to him tucking him to his chest, “Of course he’s not mad at you. He’s just tired, and maybe needs to sleep in his own bed. When you’re a little bit older you’ll see the need to sleep on your own bed.”

Isaac’s fingers tightened against Stiles t-shirt, “I’ll never want to sleep alone. I get nightmares. You and Derek help keep them away. I’ll never want my own bed.”

Stiles threaded his fingers through his hair and sighed, “Want me to tell you a story?”

Isaac nodded.

And Stiles began telling him in fairy tale terms, of course, the story of how he met Derek and everything that happened with Scott.

Isaac didn’t fall asleep until he got to the prom part of the story, and Stiles mouth was dry.

He went downstairs to get a glass of water and glared at his phone.

It took Isaac a long time to fall asleep, and it was probably because he thought Derek was mad at him no matter what Stiles said.

He called Derek and almost threw the glass of water against the wall when the call went straight to voicemail, “This is fucking great Derek! You’re screening my calls! Very mature of you! I don’t know what I did! But that doesn’t matter, what does matter is that there is a little boy who looks up to you, and has come to look at you like his new father figure, and he thinks you’re mad at him! If you’re mad at me, fine! I’ll go sleep in the guest room! But you don’t get to do that to Isaac! I swear to God, Derek. If the reason you’re upset is something stupid I am going to hang you from the roof by your balls!”

He hung up the phone feeling satisfied, and drank down the rest of his water contemplating his next move.

It wouldn’t do good to get the information from Lydia or Erica, and Scott was probably busy with Allison because she hadn’t been there this afternoon. There was one other person he could ask.

To avoid having to leave another angry voicemail, he texted Jackson instead.

_Come over._

The reply was almost immediate, _Why?_

Stiles walked up to his room, _Because I need to talk to you._

He reached his room and sat down on his computer chair spinning himself before he got the message back, _Fine._

Stiles slumped against the chair and turned on his computer. He may as well do more research on pack dynamics.

He was half way through and article about why wolves hunt in packs when suddenly the chair was turned around and there was Jackson, leaning in close.

“Holy God on a cracker, Jackson are you trying to kill me?” He raised one hand to his chest and the other pushing Jackson back a bit, because personal space was a word that he was going to have to bring up the next time the pack got together, not that they would care anyway. Not with the way they acted like Stiles personal space was their personal space.

Jackson let the chair go as if it burned him and sat down on the floor at the foot of the bed, “You said you wanted to talk. So talk.”

Stiles sighed, “What no foreplay? No how are you? No are you okays? Just talk?”

Jackson glared, and Stiles raised his hands up in defense, “Geeze did you and Derek get your personalities switched or something? Because that right there, is classic Derek before we killed the Alpha.”

Jackson made a noise between a frustrated growl and a whine, and Stiles sat up straighter in his seat, “Okay. I want to know why you attacked Boyd.”

Jackson gave him a look, and then he looked away and gave a frustrated huff before looking down and picking at the hem of his pants. Stiles was about to ask another question, or babble until he accidentally ran across the right answer, but Jackson opened his mouth and began to speak.

“It’s not what you’re thinking. I don’t have a crush on you or anything,” he spit crush out like it was a bad word, and Stiles felt a little bit offended. “It’s Derek! And his stupid façade. He acts all stoic, and doesn’t show the real emotions he’s feeling, and they bleed over to me because he’s repressing, and I can’t handle it, so I snap, and do what he wishes he could do.” He didn’t look back up at Stiles. But Stiles felt the air charging around them. “It’s probably a really good thing that I’m never around him when he wants to kiss you or fuck you, because I feel the visceral reaction miles away. And I want to come here, and just _take_ you, but that’s not really what I want. It’s what he wants, and I’m just so tired of this. Tired of fighting against my emotions. Tired of seeing you and feeling like I’m in love with you, because I’m not. I’m really not. But Derek is and I can’t fight him.”

Stiles let out a breath, “Oh.”

He licked his lips and tried to keep his voice steady, “So today, when you attacked Boyd, it was because Derek wanted to?”

Jackson nodded his head, “That and he reeked of arousal.”

Stiles flushed and turned around in his chair looking back at the computer and trying not to think too hard on what Jackson just told him.

There was a shuffling sound, and then Jackson turned him back around, “Hey. I know I’m a douche, but it’s because I know I’m better than everyone.”

Stiles snorts.

Jackson half smiles at him, “That doesn’t mean that I don’t get that this freaks you out as much as it freaks me out. The only person who’s probably not freaked out about it is Isaac, and that’s only because he can’t understand. I haven’t told Derek any of this because I’m afraid that he might not let me be around anymore, and I can’t handle that.”

Stiles shakes his head and reaches out to touch Jackson, but he flinches back, “Derek won’t kick you out of the pack. I won’t let him even if he suggests it. This is more his fault anyway. So if anyone should be kicked out of the pack it should be him, but you know Alpha.”

Jackson snorted, but he still looked a little lost.

Stiles licked his lips again, “Hey. I’ll find a way to fix this okay?”

Jackson just nodded his head and then stretched yawning.

Stiles made a head movement towards his bed, “You can sleep there if you want. I think I’m going to spend the night researching.”

Jackson tilted his head at him, “We have school tomorrow.”

Stiles nodded, “Yep. And you have your own drawer. Everyone has their own drawer.”

“But shouldn’t you sleep too.”

Stiles shrugged, “It wouldn’t be the first time that I spend a sleepless night doing research.”

Jackson looked at him some more like if he wanted to protest, but Stiles gave him his sternest look, and he just sighed and crawled into the bed with Isaac. Isaac turned into him gripping his t-shirt and snuggling down on his side.

Jackson tucked him to his chest and was asleep instantly.

Stiles sighed and looked at his phone.

Nothing from Derek.

He turned to his computer and opened another tab and got down to business.

\----

Stiles may have fallen asleep in Chemistry, which may have caused him to get detention afterschool via Mr. Harris.

Which meant that he had to text his dad to pick up Isaac after his first day of school, which meant that the kid was going to be stuck at the station for three hours without anyone that smelled like pack, which meant that there was probably going to be a freak out. He tried texting Derek, but Derek didn’t answer. Which infuriated him to no end, but at least Erica answered when he called her, or he should say Boyd answered.

And he could hear Lydia in the background. And it was Free Day so technically they didn’t have to be together. And he couldn’t hear any construction work being down. But he did hear sheets rustling and someone giggling.

So that was that then.

Boyd stammered when he heard him on the phone and handed the phone over to Erica without saying anything, and Stiles really needed to know what Derek told him so that he could fix it, because it wouldn’t do to have one member of the pack be afraid of him. They were not supposed to be afraid of him.

They barely respected him.

He convinced Erica with cookies to go pick up Isaac at the station, and then sat down to serve his detention.

Mr. Harris didn’t say anything. He just sat there reading a book. Which was alright, really. Stiles had too much to think about to be bothered with his self-entitled _you are my new project_ _and I am going to make your life miserable_ speech.

He grabbed his notebook and made a list of the things he needed to talk about during the next pack meeting.

There was also another list, but that was for Derek’s ears only. If Derek stopped avoiding him enough to listen.

When he had woken up Jackson and Isaac in the morning and had marched both of them through their morning routines before sitting them at the table to give them breakfast, his dad barely batted an eye. He made a comment about how he’d thought that Stiles liked Derek, not Jackson, and both Jackson and Stiles made the same face of disgust at his dad which had him chuckling and raising his hands in the air.

He hadn’t found out much about what was going on with Jackson and Derek, but he did find out that emotional transference was something that happened if someone who was omega and someone who was alpha spent too much time together. Which meant that Jackson was omega. The lowest in the Totem Pole of wolfhood. .

Stiles didn’t know how to bring up the subject to Jackson so that left Derek.

Derek, who was ignoring him.

Derek, who confessed to him, and then slept in his bed with him for a week, and then stops talking to him because some guy was sprawled all over Stiles.

Does he actually think that Stiles is that fickle? He may be a teenager, and sure he doesn’t know what he wants half the time, and sure he had a crush on Lydia for years until he saved her and Lydia became like his best friend/sibling sort of like Scott and Allison. He’d seen her naked! And yet it didn’t faze him as much as seeing Derek shirtless, that’s when he kissed that crush goodbye.

The point was that Stiles may be a teenager, but he was acting more mature about this than Derek “I am older than you so I know better” Hale.

In the past month, Derek had become more open. Maybe it had something to do with seeing Stiles at his most vulnerable, but he had started using words, and emoting all over the place when he and Stiles were alone, and Stiles had thought that they had made progress and were pass this whole, _you did something I didn’t like so I’m going to ignore you_ nonsense. Stiles thought that they had actually made progress.

He sighed leaning back in his seat and tapping his pencil on the side of his notebook.

He spent the rest of his detention time trying not to think about the different ways that he knew how to incapacitate a werewolf, and ignoring the fact that his phone was vibrating in his pocket.

It would be just like Mr. Harris to keep him for an extra half hour just because he pulled his phone out of his pocket.

When he was finally able to escape, he went straight to his car, and threw his bag inside before tugging his phone out of his pocket.

The first message was from Erica: _Now don’t freak out or anything, but we sort of can’t find Isaac._

Stiles didn’t even read the other messages. He felt as if his whole world was tilting on its axis. He saw spots before his eyes and suddenly realized that he couldn’t breathe.

Oh, panic attack.

He sat down on the floor and tried to get his breathing controlled.

His phone rang and it was Derek’s ringtone.

He picked it up before the first ring finished, “What happened?!”

“Stiles calm down,” Derek commanded. Derek’s voice soothed him a little but not by much. He would feel so much better if Derek was right there next to him.

“Derek, please tell me that you have him,” he gasped into the phone.

“I have him,” Derek says and Stiles feels as though the rock that had been stuck in his throat had dissolved and he could breathe again, and he gave a small sob because what if something had happened to him? Stiles can’t take losing someone else. And Derek! What would’ve happened to him if something had happened to him?

“Stiles where are you?”

“School parking lot,” he whispered trying to get his breathing back to normal and not cry, because Isaac was okay. He was with Derek, so he was okay.

“Okay. I’m sending Erica and Lydia to go get you,” he starts.

Stiles shakes his head, “Why aren’t you coming to get me? Why have you been avoiding me? I don’t get it Derek. What did I do?”

Derek doesn’t say anything. Stiles can hear him breathing, and he doesn’t say anything. And Stiles wishes that he could at least give him the courtesy of telling him what’s wrong, at least let him fix it before he tore it apart even more, but no he stays quiet and then says, “Stiles,” and it sounds like the start of a sentence that Stiles doesn’t want to hear.

So he hangs up the phone.

He gets up still feeling a bit shaky, and gets in his car.

He starts it and pulls out of the parking lot.

Driving had been the thing he did when it got to be too much to be inside of his house. Whenever the memory of his mom threatened to overwhelm him and take him under. Whenever his dad drank too much and started talking about her, or comparing Stiles to her.

And it looked like it was the thing he was going to do whenever Derek acted like an ass, which was all the time. He was really going to rack up some serious mileage.

\----

He didn’t get home until late.

His dad had called, and he had assured him that he was okay that he was just driving.

His dad had given him the I-don’t-believe-you sigh and had said, “Well, Hale dropped off Isaac, and he’s asking for you, but I guess I can get him to settle down next to me for the night. Just don’t be home too late.”

Stiles had sighed, “Sure thing dad.”

He hung up the phone and didn’t answer any other calls or messages. His phone kept chirping and he had to turn it off in order to get some peace.

He felt a little bit better when he parked his jeep in front of the house. He turned off the car, and sighed while letting his head drop down on top of the steering wheel.

It didn’t really surprise him when the driver’s side door opened and Derek was dragging him out of the car.

He pushed him back as soon as he got to his feet, “Watch it! I’m not in the mood to be manhandled!”

Derek glowered from three feet away and seemed to be resisting the urge to cross the space between them and plaster himself against Stiles which was a good thing, because Stiles would kick him in the balls if he did that.

“Why didn’t you wait for Erica and Lydia?”

Stiles snorted, “Because I’m not ten and I can drive myself places thank you very much.”

Derek glared, “You were in no condition to drive.”

Stiles crossed his arms over his chest, “I’ve driven in worst conditions! And besides you have no right! Aren’t you ignoring me right now?”

Derek gave him the _you can’t be that stupid_ look, “I didn’t know if you were hurt. I just wanted to make sure that you were okay.”

“Well I’m fine!” Stiles snapped. “Perfectly fine. So fine in fact that you don’t need to be here anymore! So if you could please march your werewolf ass to your car and leave me alone that would be great!”

Derek looked confused which was good because Stiles was confused about too many things and he had no patience to deal with him right now, “Why are you doing this?”

Stiles gritted his teeth and pushed him back, “Because you’re an ass! You confess that you’re in love with me! And sleep in my bed! And I’m thinking that maybe I can deal with being tied to you forever! And then you go act like a total ass! I get it! You don’t want other people to touch me! That doesn’t mean you have to take it out on me whenever someone does! It’s not like I go around telling people, ‘Hey lay your hands on me so that my boyfriend can get mad!’ I get that you’re a possessive asshole, you fucking jerk! But you don’t get to treat me like that anymore! Because you _know_ how I feel about you! And you don’t get to do that to Isaac! Or so help me God, Hale I will _end_ you!”

Stiles was breathing heavily by the time he finished, and Derek was just looking at him.

And he didn’t say anything, and Stiles wanted to punch him in the face.

When did he start getting so violent?

Must’ve been around the time that Scott got bitten by that werewolf.

“You’re right,” and it was so quiet that Stiles thought that he was hearing things. Then Derek cleared his throat and looked away. “You’re right, okay. I’m a jerk, and I’m sorry. I don’t know how else to do this Stiles. I get so mad when anyone touches you, and I ignore you because you should hang around other people and go out with other people and fall in love with other people.”

He choked on the word love, and Stiles clenched his fists to stop himself from reaching out.

“But I’m too selfish to actually let you do what’s good for you. I know that it infuriates you when I ignore you. I can taste your frustration. And it shouldn’t make me as happy as it does. Because you being frustrated just means that you still want me even when I act like a jerk.”

Stiles clenched his fists even tighter, “So you ignore me to test whether I’m going to go out with other people or come back to you?”

Derek shrugged, and Stiles swung his fist at his face. Derek caught it in time, “You do know that’s going to hurt you more than it’s going to hurt me right?”

Stiles glared at him, “Why don’t you just stand right there, and I’ll get the tire iron in my trunk?”

“I know that I’m a jerk okay,” Derek says pulling Stiles hand and making him crash into him before wrapping his arms around Stiles waist and holding him to his chest. “I’m sorry.”

Stiles felt the fight drain out of him, and he hit at Derek’s shoulder weakly, “I hate you.”

Derek buried his head in Stiles throat, “No you don’t.”

He breathed across his skin and Stiles felt goosebumps. Derek moved his hands running them up and down Stiles back until Stiles felt limp in his arms.

“You know what you should do right now,” Stiles whispered wrapping his arms around Derek’s waist and digging his fingers into his back.

Derek pulled back a bit to rest their foreheads together, “What?”

Stiles licked his lips and Derek’s arms wrapped around his shoulders pulling him closer, “I think you should kiss me.”

“Stiles,” Derek whispers, and it sounds pained. Stiles fingers grip tighter into the back of his t-shirt.

“Just one kiss isn’t going to hurt,” he says his tone already begging enough, but he was willing to beg more. He knows that Derek can barely resist when he begs. The last time he begged Derek for something they were separated by a door. They weren’t separated this time.

Derek opened his mouth, to probably tell Stiles that they couldn’t, but Stiles cut him off, “Please, Derek, just one kiss, _please._ ”

And then Derek’s hands were sliding around his neck and his thumbs were stroking Stiles jaw and he tipped his head back a bit, and finally pressed their lips together.

It was soft, and chaste, and Stiles let out a small gasp, and then it changed.

Derek walked them back into the side of his car, before pressing him into his car door which had closed under their weight and kissing him like a man that was starving and Stiles was the last piece of steak.

He opened Stiles mouth with his tongue sliding it inside and teasing Stiles’ tongue, before pulling out and biting down on his bottom lip tugging it into his mouth and sucking on it, and Stiles moaned hands sliding down to grip Derek’s ass. Derek growled and tugged him close sliding a knee in between his thighs and pressing down on his crotch making Stiles hips buck as it made contact with his hard dick. Stiles squeezed Derek’s ass urging him to move faster, while Derek tilted his head with his hands and who knew that that angle would make everything that much better. Derek’s tongue was lapping at his lips and then he was licking inside moving in unison with the way his knee was doing a spectacular job of bringing Stiles off.

And then the light from the porch turned on and Derek moved away so fast that Stiles felt the burn of his stubble across his chin, and he winced.

“Stiles, you out there?”

Stiles let his head fall back against the car almost letting out a growl in frustration, because how was this his life, seriously, before raising his hand, “Yeah dad, sorry, stubbed my toe getting out of the car.”

His dad made a noise that proved how much he did not believe him, “Okay Stiles, just hurry up inside. I put Isaac in your bed when he fell asleep. It took me three hours and re-watching that Rio movie to get him to finally go to sleep.”

“Be right there dad.”

Stiles moved opening his car door and getting his bag and phone.

He heard the door shut behind his dad and suddenly there was Derek pressed up behind him and holy mother of God his hard cock was pressed against Stiles ass, and it wasn’t like Stiles hadn’t done the research, and knew what sex between two guys consisted off. Meaning he’d seen the porn, lots and lots of porn.

But it was something completely different to feel someone’s cock on your ass. It was also something completely different because it was Derek’s cock on his ass, and he gasped and pushed back.

Derek growled low and his lips found the back of Stiles neck. He mouthed against it before whispering harshly in his ear, “I want to bend you over and fuck you right here.”

He demonstrated his point by bending Stiles over the driver’s seat, and pushing his knees in between Stiles’ legs and urging him to widen his stance. It was super effective, in the way that Stiles let out a moan and arched back.

“I want to take you and mark you so thoroughly that everyone would be able to tell that you are _mine_ and mine alone. And that if any of them touch you they’d face my wrath.”

Stiles shouldn’t really be finding this talk about marking and owning as hot as he was finding it.

“Derek you don’t own me. I own myself. I am strong and indepen…” he gasped and let out another moan as Derek bit down on his neck and sucked. He let go and licked across the mark that he had obviously left behind. Stiles wondered how he was going to cover that up.

“You are strong and independent, but you’re also _mine_ ,” his voice sounded so desperate, and Stiles wanted to turn around and hug him because yes, if it made him feel better, Stiles was his.

“Say it,” Derek growled pushing closer.

“Yours,” Stiles whispered. “Totally yours, but can we like take this upstairs. I’m sure my dad is going to come back out wondering what’s taking so long.”

And those were the magic words to get Derek to back off.

Stiles turned around clutching his bag and cell in hand, and Derek was standing too far away. He slung his bag over his shoulder and put his phone in his pocket before closing the door and reaching out for Derek’s hand.

Derek shook his head and sighed rubbing his hands over his face and through his hair.

“Aren’t you coming upstairs?” Stiles asked confused, because they got over the problem. Why couldn’t they go upstairs and continue doing this, whatever this was?

Derek looked wrecked. He looked a bit desperately at Stiles before stepping forward quickly and pinning him to the car again, “You have no idea how badly I want to, but I _can’t_.”

He tipped Stiles head back and pressed their mouths together softly.

“You have no idea,” he whispers his lips brushing Stiles’ with every word. “I want to claim you so bad. Bite into you and make you mine permanently. And we’ve already discussed this.”

He pulled away and Stiles made a noise in protest.

“I’ll see you upstairs, but no kissing.”

Stiles just tugged on his jacket and pressed their mouths together again, “Okay, last one, but can we still cuddle.”

Derek rolled his eyes and pressed their foreheads together, “Yes, we can cuddle. We’ll cuddle with Isaac sprawled on top of us.”

Stiles made a face, “Way to ruin the mood. Look at us, we haven’t even had sex yet and we’re already getting cockblocked by the kids.”

Derek let out a small huff of laughter, “I’ll see you upstairs.” And stepped back again.

He watched Stiles enter the house, and Stiles just shook his head. He left his keys on the table by the door, and trudged up the stairs. He made a quick trip to the bathroom.

He was only going to brush his teeth, but he stopped to gape at his face, and the fact that around his lips and his chin looked raw like if he had scrapped himself with a cheese grater, and then there was the monster of a hickey on his neck which was surrounded by a perfect set of teeth. God he looked like if someone had mauled him, and he would bet his car that it was going to look worse tomorrow.

The whole school was going to know that Stiles had gotten it on with some dude.

What was he going to tell the pack?

What was he going to tell his dad?!

He groaned and turned off the light before going to his room.

He closed the door behind him dropping his bag on the floor and setting his phone on the charge pad before turning to Derek who was lying back on the bed with Isaac tucked into his side, “How am I going to explain these marks tomorrow? You didn’t have to mark me!”

Derek’s eyes flashed red, “Yes I did.”

Stiles rolled his eyes and unbuckled his pants, “What am I going to tell my dad?”

Derek had the gall to shrug, “You said that you told him the truth.”

Stiles kicked his pants off, “And I promised him that we wouldn’t have sex!”

Derek shrugged again and looked at him long-sufferingly, “We didn’t.”

Stiles rolled his eyes and went over to the bed crawling in beside Isaac, “That’s so beside the point. One look at me and everyone’s gonna think it’s what happened.”

“But it didn’t,” Derek says wrapping one arm and leg around him tugging him close and squishing Isaac between them.

Stiles yawned, “I just don’t see what’s the point of people gossiping about me having sex, if I’m not getting any.”

“And you won’t be getting any as long as you’re under the age of eighteen. Now go to sleep. You didn’t get any last night. And I know you don’t want to miss your favorite Study Date, where you get to lord over everyone because you’re so much better at History and English.”

Stiles wanted to protest, but he was already half asleep, “Watch it. I think that was almost a compliment. Wouldn’t want to give me a heart attack by saying something nice about me.”

“Go to sleep, Stiles,” it had the sound of an Alpha command but it was way too fond to be one.

Stiles just snuggled down closer, breathing in the scent of Isaac and Derek, and fell asleep.


End file.
